A probation officer in Tennessee was preparing an arrest warrant Friday for Michael Cummins – a suspect in Saturday’s slayings of seven people – but was unable to obtain a judge’s signature, according to reports.

The crimes have been called “the deadliest homicide event in Tennessee in at least 20 years.”

The arrest warrant for Cummins was being prepared because District Attorney Ray Whitley determined that Cummins had violated his probation following his release in January after serving just 16 months of a 10-year sentence for attempting to burn down a neighbor's house in September 2017 and assaulting her when she tried to put out the fire.

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Michael Cummins, 25, is seen in an undated booking photo. He is being held in connection with the deaths of seven people, including his parents and grandmother, authorities say. (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation)

On Saturday, police arrested Cummins, 25, after an hours-long manhunt after seven bodies were discovered in two rural Tennessee homes.

The victims were identified as Cummins’ parents and grandmother, an uncle and the uncle’s girlfriend, and the girlfriend’s daughter and mother, according to authorities.

On Tuesday, a medical examiner in Nashville said Tuesday that the causes of death for the victims included multiple blunt force injuries and some sharp-force injuries.

Davidson County Medical Examiner Dr. Feng Li said in a phone interview Tuesday that all seven were homicide victims. There was no evidence of bullet wounds, although Cummins hinted to acquaintances before his capture that he was armed with a gun.

Authorities have not provided a possible motive for the killings.

Cummins was arrested Saturday about a mile from one of the two crime scenes. He was shot and wounded while being taken into custody after authorities spotted him in a creek bed.

An affidavit filed April 22 says Cummins had failed to meet with his probation officer and failed to contact the probation office following his release from prison, Nashville’s WTVF-TV reported.

He also allegedly violated a no-contact order with the neighbor whose home he tried to burn and failed to get a required mental health evaluation.

But Cummins had been in compliance with the terms of his probation until April 10, the Tennessean of Nashville reported.

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But Whitley said that even if the probation officer had obtained a judge's signature on the arrest warrant Friday, it was unlikely that Cummins would have been arrested immediately.

“It's just a coincidence,” Whitley said, that the slayings occurred Saturday.

He added that Cummins still has not been served with an arrest warrant for the killings because he was still undergoing hospital treatment after being shot during his arrest.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.