The father of the two children who died at the hands of their grandfather in Huétor Tajar, in Granada, Spain, is in hospital under sedation.

The children were 10 and 12 years old and had lost their mother two months earlier. 

According to Telecinco, the children's father had to be admitted to hospital as soon as he heard about the death of his children. He is sedated and receiving psychological treatment. 

Remember that this is the second time in just two months that tragedy has struck this family, since the children's mother and grandmother died in a traffic accident. "Since this morning we have been in a terrible state... I can't believe it", a neighbour told the same source. 

The 72-year-old man took his own life after killing his grandchildren. "He committed suicide when the Guardia Civil entered", said a source from the Spanish government. 

The man barricaded himself in his house for 10 hours after arguing with his son-in-law, who left the house when the man pulled out a gun.

It was a hunting rifle for which he had a licence and with which he fired two shots into the air from the window when the Guardia Civil arrived.

After hours of talking to the negotiator, at five o'clock in the morning, the man said that he had to get everything ready for his grandchildren to go to school. However, as they did not leave the house at 8 o'clock in the morning, the officers went in.

By that time, the children were already dead, each in a different room of the house.

The children's father had recently lost his mother

Two months ago, the grandfather was driving the car in which the whole family was travelling and in which they had a traffic accident. He fainted at the wheel and his daughter and wife lost their lives. The grandchildren were in intensive care for a week due to head injuries and several broken bones.

According to the newspaper El Mundo, that day, he was going to take the eldest boy to the conservatory. It was a journey that the children's father normally made, but he was in hospital that day accompanying his sick mother, who also died a few weeks ago.

In a matter of weeks, the boys' father lost his wife, his mother and his children.

Today is the first day of the three days of mourning decreed by the city council.

Read Also: Grandfather who killed his grandchildren survived an accident that killed his daughter and wife (Portuguese version)