Four injured in possible machete attack at a Florida Keys trailer, deputies say

A Christmas morning fight in the Florida Keys where a machete was likely used left four people injured and two under arrest, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were called to a trailer home in Tavernier just after 4 a.m. Wednesday and arrived to find a “confusing situation,” said sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt. A man and a woman had suffered critical injuries, Linhardt said, including cuts to the woman’s neck.

The injuries weren’t life-threatening but the two victims were brought to Kendall Regional Medical Center, Linhardt said. Two others with minor injuries were taken to Mariners Hospital.

A machete was recovered at the trailer, which deputies believe was used during the altercation, as was a broken bottle, Linhardt said.

Two men, German Rivera Hernandez and Jonathan Rivera Enriquez, were arrested for their alleged roles in the incident, according to inmate information on the sheriff’s office website. Both were charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and burglary with assault or battery.

Linhardt said investigators were also considering whether to charge a third suspect.

Authorities are still trying to figure out what caused the incident and exactly how it played out, but Linhardt said initial conversations suggest there were two groups of people involved.

First, Linhardt said, one person or a small group of people may have gone to the home at 210 Burton Dr., where words were exchanged. That person or group of people then left the home before returning, perhaps in larger numbers, with one person wielding a machete.

At least seven people were involved in the ensuing fight, Linhardt said.

This story was originally published December 25, 2019 at 11:10 AM.