Story highlights A northern California sheriff's office says a son stabbed his father with scissors

The son, 27, then cut off his hands with a radial-arm saw, authorities say

Both father and son had life-threatening injuries but were still alive the next day

"I just can't imagine anything like that happening between family," a neighbor says

A 59-year-old man lay bloody on the driveway. His son stood nearby, both his hands cut off at the wrist.

That's the gruesome scene Shasta County, California, sheriff's deputies encountered Monday afternoon, before calling ambulances to transport the two to area hospitals.

A full day later, both Gregory Dunn and his son Jason are still alive despite their life-threatening injuries, said sheriff's office Detective Will Gardner.

No charges had been filed in the case as of Tuesday afternoon. The incident is being investigated as an attempted homicide, police said.

The bloody scene played out Monday in the northern California city of Redding, in a neighborhood close to a municipal airport in that city.

According to police, what began as a verbal fight between family members at some point became physical. Based on interviews, the sheriff's office alleged that the 27-year-old son stabbed his father multiple times with scissors.

Then, the sheriff's office said a press release, Jason Dunn mutilated himself by using a radial-arm saw to sever his hands.

Neighbors heard the altercation, as did an unnamed witness who contacted authorities, according to Gardner.

Gary Rinehart told CNN affiliate KRCR that he saw both men being wheeled from the scene into separate ambulances. The first, the son, had "a lot of blood at the end of his arms, like his hands weren't there." The second, the father, had "blood in the upper area."

"This is definitely the craziest thing that's ever happened on this street," Rinehart said.

The father would walk his dog around the neighborhood, according to Rinehart, who described him as a "nice guy" based on their occasional conversations. The neighbor said he'd only met the son once in eight years living there, when Jason Dunn apologized for shooting a pellet gun toward another neighbor's house.

Reflecting Tuesday on the bloody incident that occurred across the street from his home, Rinehart said, "I just can't imagine anything like that happening between family."