FLORENCE, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama man accused of attacking his three children and brother with a machete held police at bay for more than three hours Wednesday before officers arrested him to end the standoff.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Kyle Seeley, 34, seriously injured the four at a home and then barricaded himself inside a nearby building, news outlets reported. The victims, including three children younger than 10, were taken to hospitals for treatment of cuts, he said. None of the injuries appeared life-threatening.
Tactical officers from the Florence Police Department and the sheriff’s department tried to convince the man to surrender, and he finally was arrested while attempting to run away after officers used tear gas to flush him out.
“He was just fleeing, trying to get away,” Singleton said. A “family situation,” possibly a divorce, prompted the violence, he said.
Seeley’s parents were at the home at the time of the attack, Singleton said, and the man was disarmed by his father.
Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler said his department had multiple arrest warrants for Seeley before the standoff for charges including resisting arrest, attempting to elude, public intoxication and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Seeley was charged with multiple counts of attempted murder, authorities said, and prosecutors filed papers asking a judge to revoke his probation from a previous conviction for burglary.
Court records were not immediately available to show whether Seeley had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.