Amber Alert:

Father arrested on suspicion of attempted murder

A father accused of kidnapping his 5-year-old son from San Mateo early Wednesday, prompting an Amber Alert, had severely beaten two people during the abduction before fleeing with the child to Sacramento County, authorities said.

Michael Steele, 34, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in unincorporated Sacramento County, 2½ hours after he fled the Bay Area with his 5-year-old son, triggering the emergency alert, San Mateo County sheriff ’s officials said.

The ordeal began around 4:30 a.m. when deputies responded to a domestic violence call at a home on the 1800 block of Parrot Drive in San Mateo and found two victims badly beaten there, officials said.

One of the victims, a woman in her 40s who was not identified, had “significant visible injuries to her face,” and the other person, a man in his 60s, also had injuries to his face, deputies said.

The victims were taken to a hospital for treatment. Their conditions were not available.

Steele, who was immediately identified as the alleged attacker, fled the area with his 5-year-old son in a 2015 Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, deputies said.

Just before 7 a.m., authorities in Sacramento County spotted Steele driving the truck in Rosemont. Deputies pulled him over, arrested him without incident and recovered his son, who was wearing pajama pants and no shirt. The child was taken to a hospital with an injured hand.

Steele was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, domestic violence and child abduction.