The Riverstone Apartment complex in Southfield, Michigan, is usually a quiet area, but instead of Christmas festivities on Thursday, the neighborhood was met with lights and sirens. 

At about 9:36 p.m., Southfield police were called to the 25000 block of Shiawassee Road, where three people were shot. Two of the victims, a 30-year-old Detroit man and a 20-year-old Madison Heights man, were pronounced dead at a hospital. The third victim, a 23-year-old woman, was hit in the hand and is expected to be OK.

Police said a 3-year-old child was inside the residence at the time, but was unharmed and was placed with another family member. 

Police said the shooting stemmed from a domestic assault between a boyfriend and girlfriend earlier that day that hadn't been reported to the authorities. 

Margaret Hall, the founder of the Southfield Domestic Violence Group, said incidents of domestic violence rise this time of year. 

"With families getting together, being closed indoors, holidays, pressure passed, triggers and things that just blow up," said Hall. 

Police said that after the assault, the boyfriend left the apartment and later returned to find a friend and a male acquaintance in the residence. He allegedly forced his way inside and grabbed a gun. Police said the male acquaintance pulled out a firearm, and the two men exchanged gunfire.

Police said after the shooting, the friend and the male acquaintance left the apartment and drove to a nearby hospital before officers arrived. The boyfriend and girlfriend remained at th apartment and were taken to a hospital by first responders.

 Hall said firearms are an unfortunately common and deadly aspect of domestic violence, and it can take multiple tries to get out. 

"The magic number is seven. Seven times mostly is the number that a person goes back to a domestic violence situation or relationships. And normally, the seventh time they leave at that point, but that requires them having a plan," she said. 

An investigation is ongoing.