An NC state fair operator has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon, after reportedly injuring five people, ABC News reported on Sunday.

The victims were riders of a "Vortex" ride that had started up again as they were exiting it. Wake County sheriff Donnie Harrison said the ride had been tampered with, based on preliminary investigations. Harrison expects more arrests to be made in the following days, he told the local media.

Authorities have identified the assailant as Timothy Dwarne Tutterrow, 46, of Quitman, Georgia. He will be facing three criminal counts of assault, according to ABC News.

Tutterow is employed as independent ride contractor to the state fair, Family Attractions. He has been working for the company for the past four years, Fox News said in a report.

Family Attractions only had one ride, the Vortex, for the North Carolina State Fairgrounds.

According to reports, three out of the five injured are still in the hospital and remain in good to critical condition. The victims were identified as Kisha Gorham, 39; Anthony Gorham, 29, and a 14-year old that was reported to be a relative of the two, according to Fox News.

Witnesses said the accident occurred around 9:00 p.m. on Thursday, Fox News reported.

Fair attendance significantly declined after the incident, with only 82,163 people down from 92,418 from a year ago.

Harrison told CNN that the ride operator was one of the people injured. However, a witness also told the ABC that Tutterrow broke down in tears and knelt when the accident happened.

North Carolina Department of Labor spokeswoman Dolores Quesenberry told CNN on Thursday that fair rides were routinely inspected three times every day.

Fox news reports that the ride would be closed until the fair ends on Sunday.

WNCN.com reports that a witness said he saw operators fixing the ride on Thursday night when the accident occurred.