A man who had been on the run after allegedly attacking his parents and brother with an axe has been arrested nearly four days later.

Peter O’Ryan, 48, was arrested on Tuesday after police were called about a man suspiciously loitering around Tyers-Walhalla Road, near where the attack happened, just before 9pm.

O’Ryan was at his family’s home in the small Gippsland town of Tyers, in Victoria’s east, on Saturday when an argument broke out just after midday, police allege. He then allegedly attacked his brother with an axe before turning on his elderly mother and father.

He fled the scene on foot, sparking warnings for the public to stay vigilant.

Victoria Police Detective Senior Sergeant Rodney Findlay described the alleged attack as the worst he had seen.

“I’ve been working in family violence a long time,” Findlay said on Sunday.

“This is some of the most serious offending I’ve ever seen.”

O’Ryan’s father, 77, and brother, 47, were flown to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Both required immediate surgery. They remain in intensive care at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne, in critical conditions.

His mother, 74, was also taken to hospital with critical injuries. She is in a stable condition.

She had been able to provide only sparse details in between treatments about the violent incident at the family home.

“Over the past three days, police conducted numerous searches for the Tyers man who will now be interviewed in relation to the incident,” Victoria Police said.

“Police thank the public for their assistance in locating the man.”

-AAP