SALINE COUNTY —Police are investigating a violent attack involving a machete and have made an arrest.
The altercation occurred between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. December 27 following a heated dispute the previous evening, according to Salina Police Captain David Villanueva.
"Apparently, there were folks hanging out together. They know each other. There was some alcohol involved and that night before, there was some words between the victim and the suspect," Villanueva said.
The suspect identified as 48-year-old Tualagi Masaniai allegedly had threatened the victim with a knife and also had made comments that he would “choke the person out, or cause him harm,” according to Captain Villanueva.
The following morning, Tualagi came to the 38-year-old victim's house in the 400 Block of South 4th Street in Salina.
According to the police report, Masaniai allegedly struck the victim in the face with a machete, creating a vertical laceration extending from the victim’s eye to his nose. Villanueva described the injury as severe, noting that it exposed facial substructures beneath the skin. The victim was treated for his injuries at Salina Regional Health Center. Police did not have an update on his condition Monday.
A police search of Masaniai’s residence uncovered a machete, described by investigators as a two-and-a-half to three-foot-long bush blade with blood on it. Additional evidence was also recovered from the suspect’s vehicle.
Police found Masaniai at a motel on South Broadway in Salina and arrested him on requested charges of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery and criminal threat.
Villanueva said that the prior verbal threats, combined with the attack, led to the attempted first-degree murder charge.
Police did not release any additional information on the relationship between Masaniai and victim or the number of individuals present during the initial altercation on Friday.