Tainan: An 83-year-old man was arrested in Tainan Sunday after setting fire to a relative's home, attacking three people with a hatchet, and then stealing an ambulance in an attempted escape, local authorities said.

According to Focus Taiwan, the Tainan City Fire Bureau received a call at 11 a.m. Sunday about a loud argument and a person possibly carrying weapons at a townhouse on Xinle Road in the city's South District. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene immediately. Upon arrival, they discovered smoke coming from the ground floor of the building.

As firefighters entered to extinguish the fire, they were attacked by a man wielding a hatchet. The attack resulted in injuries to two emergency personnel and one female resident of the home, the fire bureau reported. Following the attack, the suspect, later identified as an 83-year-old man surnamed Hsin, stole an empty ambulance outside the building and attempted to flee.

Hsin was pursued by police into Yongkang District, where he was eventually pulled over, arrested, and taken to a police station for questioning. Local media reported that Hsin brandished his hatchet upon being approached by officers, but was subdued with pepper spray and batons.

The Tainan Fire Bureau stated that one firefighter suffered a head injury during the attack, while a volunteer firefighter and a female resident, surnamed Huang, sustained scalp lacerations. All three victims were conscious and were transported to National Cheng Kung University Hospital for treatment.

A preliminary investigation by police revealed that Hsin attacked Huang, his wife's younger sister, after traveling to her home on Sunday morning and engaging in an argument. The conflict reportedly arose from Huang's plan to move abroad and sell a home where Hsin and his wife currently reside.