3 Children, 1 Adult Injured After Alabama Man Allegedly Attacks His Family With Machete

Authorities have apprehended an Alabama man who allegedly attacked members of his own family with a machete and barricaded himself from police early Wednesday morning.

The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office in Florence, Alabama, received a 911 call shortly after 7 a.m. CDT reporting a disturbance on Lauderdale County Road 57. The Florence Police Department issued a traffic alert on its Facebook page shortly before 8 a.m. advising residents to stay clear of the area.

Sheriff Rick Singleton identified Kyle Seeley as the suspect during a press conference on Wednesday morning. Singleton said Seeley attacked three children all under the age of 10 as well as his adult brother. The suspect's parents were also in the house at the time of the attack.

Two of the children and the adult brother have been airlifted to hospitals in Birmingham with lacerations sustained during the incident. The third child was transported to a local hospital.

Singleton added that a firearm may have been fired during the attack, but that no one was hit by gunfire. All of the injuries are related to the machete. Officials described the injuries as "significant" but hopefully not life-threatening.

At the time of the press conference, Seeley had barricaded himself in an outbuilding behind the house. The SWAT team was also on the scene to assist deputies from the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office in the standoff.

Chief Deputy Richard Richey said during the press conference that the goal was to have Seeley peacefully give himself up.

"We're not in a rush," the official said at the time. "We're not going to force anything. We're going to ask him to come out on his own, encourage him to do so in a little bit if he doesn't decide on his own to come out. We do want to go ahead and effect the arrest."

Richey confirmed to Newsweek that Seeley is now in custody. Law enforcement officials apprehended the suspect after he opened the door and attempted to run. He was arrested at approximately 10:40 a.m., three hours after deputies first arrived to the scene.

WAFF48, a local news outlet, reported that Seeley exited the home after law enforcement used tear gas.

The suspect faces six counts of attempted murder.

Authorities said that Seeley has as many as 12 previous outstanding warrants for unrelated charges, including resisting arrest, attempting to elude police, public intoxication, trespassing, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

"He has been in the system before," Singleton said during the press conference.