ESCONDIDO -- A Border Patrol employee faces two counts of attempted homicide after he allegedly attacked a man and woman with a hatchet early Thursday morning at an Escondido home -- possibly mistaking the woman for his estranged wife, police said.

Gamalier Reyes Rivera, 32, of Imperial Beach was arrested shortly after the attack at 835 S. Upas St., said Escondido police spokesman Lt. Bob Benton. Police were called at 1:13 a.m., he said.

Rivera's estranged wife, whom police did not identify, lives at the home but was not injured, Benton said.

Both victims were taken to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido. The man remained in critical condition Thursday with wounds to his neck and torso while the woman was treated for cuts to her legs and released.

Police would not identify the victims but said they appeared to be 25 to 30 years old.

"We're not sure exactly what happened -- whether he mistook them or whether they got in his way," the lieutenant said. "We don't know whether he was there to do violence to his estranged wife."

Benton said six or seven people were inside the single-story white stucco home, including a 7-year-old child. He said he did not know how all of the residents were related, calling some of them roommates.

Benton said he did not know exactly how Rivera entered the home.

The owner of the home is listed as Jesus A. Vinas of Escondido, according to the county assessor's office. Vinas was not the man injured in the attack, a hospital official said. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Benton said he did not know whether a restraining order had been issued against Rivera by his estranged wife or anyone else inside the home.

Court and public records show two domestic dispute cases involving Rivera and a woman who had lived with Rivera in recent years. The woman was listed as the aggressor in both court cases.

A court clerk said there was no record of a restraining order between the two.

Within moments of the attack, Rivera was arrested by police without a struggle near a pay phone at Ninth and Pine streets, Benton said. Residents inside the home identified him as the attacker, he added. Rivera had blood on his clothing and was treated for minor injuries, Benton said.

Rivera was then booked at the Vista jail. He remained there Thursday afternoon, held without bail, jail records show.

Benton said police recovered a hatchet, between 8 and 12 inches long, at the crime scene.

"It's just a horrific crime when somebody has entered into a stranger's home and attacks them," Benton said, adding that the inside of the home was "a gory" and bloody scene, one he said a veteran officer described as the worst he'd seen in many years.

Spokesmen for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed Rivera is an employee, but refused to specify his job title, saying they were not authorized to say any more.

Police said the federal agency would not tell them Rivera's position either.

Bright yellow police tape blocked off a portion of South Upas early Thursday as evidence technicians gathered items from the home, located in an older, middle-class neighborhood. A blue Ford Focus sat in the home's driveway. Red and yellow rose bushes adorned its front yard.

A neighbor who declined to give her name said the block has many longtime residents and is typically very quiet.

"We have pretty nice neighbors," she said from her front door. "So this is a shocking turn of events."

This is the second time in the past week that the neighborhood has been robbed of its serenity. Daniel Eugene Alexander, 26, of Escondido, was shot in the head and killed roughly three blocks away just as police pulled up to a chaotic Fourth of July party on Vine Street.

That crime remains unsolved, police said.

Call staff writer Chris Nichols at 760-740-5426.