Two young brothers were found slain in a Cullman County home Saturday afternoon and their mother is in critical condition from apparent self-inflicted wounds.

Authorities received a 911 call about 2:30 p.m. from a home on County Road 1718 near the Baileyton community, said Sheriff Matt Gentry. When they arrived on the scene, they found the child victims unresponsive and pronounced them dead on the scene. Cullman County Coroner Jeremy Kilpatrick said the boys were ages 9 and 3.

Gentry said lawmen set up a perimeter and brought in tracking dogs. The mother was found in a field about a couple of hundred yards from the home. Gentry said the mother was injured though he declined to elaborate on the nature of her injuries. She was airlifted to an undisclosed hospital. As of 8:45 p.m., she was alive and in critical condition.

The sheriff said investigators have already spoken with the District Attorney’s Office. The mother, whose name has not yet been released, will be charged in connection with the boy’s slayings. Those warrants have not yet been issued.

The boys’ names have not been released either. Kilpatrick said their bodies have been taken to Huntsville for autopsy. The cause of death has not yet been released.

Gentry said the investigation is ongoing. The house still remains a crime scene, and deputies will be posted there around the clock until all of the evidence is processed. He said he plans to hold a press conference Tuesday to release more details about the crime, which he described as “evil.”

"In my 20 years of law enforcement, when you deal with children and horrific acts, it’s very hard,'' Gentry said. “We just ask people to pray for this family and for first responders. It’s a horrific act of evil when this happens to children.”