The father-of-three is wanted for shooting his 19-year-old daughter and leaving his wife with life-threatening injuries in the attack in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia.

A police spokesman told The Local that the man had been known to officers for years. He added that they had been called out to his house to reports of domestic violence, among other offences, many times.

“We are pretty certain that he shot his wife and daughter,” said spokesman Lars Lindemann. He added that every officer in the state had a photo of the man – thought to be around 50-years-old.

Officers arrived shortly after 7.30pm on Wednesday after shots rang out in the family’s third floor flat. There they found his 19-year-old daughter dead and his 45-year-old wife in a critical condition. Two other girls in the home were not hit and have been taken to safety.

“It could be that he has left the area, so we have widened the search to across the country,” Lindemann added.

“There was often trouble here,” said a neighbour. A group of people gathered around the building late on Wednesday evening to light candles. Others were outside as the young woman’s body was carried out of the flat.

Officers believe the man could still be armed. “We have been knocking on the doors of friends and people who know the man, and have a number of leads to work with,” police spokesman Peter Elke said.

The Local/DPA/jcw