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LOS ANGELES (TNND) — A 35-year-old father was accused of murdering his two young sons and then trying to take his own life in California, according to police.
The man was identified by relatives as Adolfo Gramajo, per The California Post, with the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) saying the suspect remained hospitalized in police custody after suffering “an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Records with the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner identified the children as 11-year-old Osmani Gramajo Bonilla and 4-year-old Jimmy Gramajo Bonilla. The cause of death for Osmani was listed as “gunshot wound to the head,” while Jimmy’s was “close range gunshot wound to the head.”
“Our family is devastated and we all ask why,” loved ones wrote in a GoFundMe post. “How could their own father do this. They were the happiest smartest babies. We will truly miss them dearly. They had their entire lives ahead of them. Our hearts are heavy.”
The LAPD said officers responded to a shooting in Pico-Union on Sunday shortly before 1 p.m., where they found two boys and their father seriously hurt. The children were taken to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, police said.
“The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain under investigation,” police said in a statement. “There are no additional suspects being sought, and there is no ongoing threat to the community.”
FOX 11 Los Angeles reported that family members said Gramajo had been spending time with the boys during a custody visit and had told their mother he planned to take them out to eat.
Detectives have not disclosed a possible motive or said what occurred before the shooting.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing, adding that anyone who has information about the shooting should contact Detective Wilfredo Ortiz of LAPD’s Juvenile Division at 213-486-0530.