A massive manhunt is underway for a 47-year-old man after four people were found dead and a child was left fighting for their life following a series of stabbings in Louisiana on Saturday night.

Terrebonne Parish Sheriff Tim Soignet identified Houma resident Kaegan Jude Solet as a person of interest as detectives investigate the shocking deaths.

Authorities released Solet's name as they appealed for help tracking him down following the discovery of multiple victims inside nearby homes.

Solet was previously accused of repeatedly knifing a woman in a brutal Christmas Eve attack in 2019.

In that instance, Houma Police said Solet stabbed a 59-year-old woman in the head and upper body inside her room at the Red Carpet Inn.

Police stressed that identifying Solet as a person of interest does not mean he has been arrested or charged with a crime.

Saturday night's investigation began when deputies raced to the 200 block of Ashland Drive and discovered a youngster suffering from stab wounds.

The badly injured child was rushed by Acadian Ambulance Service Air Med to a hospital outside the area and remains in critical condition.

But what initially appeared to be a single stabbing quickly developed into a far more disturbing investigation.

As deputies searched the surrounding area, they discovered multiple people dead inside nearby homes.

At least four victims have now been pronounced dead.

Authorities have not yet released their identities or explained what relationship, if any, existed between the four people killed, the critically injured juvenile and Solet. 

The sheriff's office has also not disclosed precisely how many homes are being investigated or whether all of the victims suffered stab wounds. No motive has been announced.

The sheriff's office emphasized that Solet has only been identified as a person of interest at this stage.

'The identification of a person of interest does not constitute an arrest or criminal charge,' authorities stressed.