Jackson County Coroner Keith Whitfield said the shooting happened Monday afternoon in a wooded area off Old Woods Bridge Road, a dirt road between Ga. 98 and Ga. 82 near Commerce.

The man drove his sons to the location, which was about a quarter-mile from the home of relatives and about five miles from the father's Commerce home, Whitfield said. The father has been identified as Keith Jermaine Gresham, 36, according to Maj. David Cochran of the Jackson County Sheriff's Office. The sons are Keionte Gresham, 4, and Keion Gresham, 7.

Relatives heard three gunshots around 4 p.m. and later discovered the bodies, Whitfield said.

The 7-year-old boy attended Commerce Primary School and was not present at school Monday, Whitfield said. The boys lived with their mother but the father had them for the weekend, he said.

The preliminary investigation indicates the deaths were the result of a murder-suicide from gunshot wounds, Whitfield said.