A 51-year-old woman has been shot dead by her partner in Malaga in what police are investigating as the latest case of gender-based violence in Spain.

The victim, identified as Vicky, was found dead alongside the body of a 56-year-old man, believed to be her partner, inside a property in the La Palma-Palmilla district of the city on Friday morning.

Emergency services were called to the home on Calle Guadalimar shortly before 7.40am after neighbours reported hearing gunshots.

Paramedics and Policia Nacional officers rushed to the scene but could only confirm that both individuals had died from gunshot wounds.

Investigators from Malaga’s homicide unit immediately launched an inquiry and later confirmed they were treating the case as a suspected murder-suicide linked to gender violence.

According to the government’s representative in Andalucia, Pedro Fernandez, the leading theory is that the man shot the woman before turning the weapon on himself.

Authorities said there had been no previous reports of domestic abuse involving the couple and neither was known to Spain’s VioGen system, the national database used to monitor and protect victims of gender violence.

The case has shocked neighbours in the area, many of whom described the couple as quiet and unproblematic.

But experts repeatedly warn that the most dangerous forms of domestic abuse often remain hidden from friends, relatives and neighbours until tragedy strikes.

Many victims never report the abuse they suffer, either through fear, shame, manipulation or emotional dependence on their abuser.

The killing means Andalucia has once again become the Spanish region with the highest number of women killed in suspected gender violence cases this year.

If confirmed by the Ministry of Equality, Vicky would become the fifth woman murdered by a current or former partner in Andalucia in 2026.

Nationally, she would be the 24th victim of gender violence this year.

Since Spain began keeping official records in 2003, 1,365 women have been killed by current or former partners.

The latest tragedy comes just months after Andalucia recorded the highest number of gender violence killings in Spain in 2025, when 15 women were murdered in the region – almost a third of the national total.

The Gender Violence Unit of the Government Subdelegation in Malaga is now compiling information on the case before forwarding its findings to the national Delegation Against Gender Violence, which will determine whether the killing is officially classified as a gender violence murder.

Anyone affected by domestic or gender-based violence in Spain can seek confidential help through the 016 helpline, which operates 24 hours a day in dozens of languages. Calls do not appear on phone bills, although experts advise deleting the number from call logs where necessary.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.