LAST UPDATE | 22 Nov 2021
THE DRIVER OF the SUV that drove into a Christmas parade in Waukesha in the US state of Wisconsin, leaving five people dead and 48 injured, will be charged with intentional homicide.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson identified the driver, and said he was not being pursued by police when he drove his red SUV into the parade yesterday.
“We are confident he acted alone. There is no evidence that this a terrorist incident,” said Thompson, adding that police believed the suspect was involved in a domestic dispute shortly before the incident.
Investigators had been looking into whether the SUV driver had been fleeing from a crime when he ploughed into the Christmas parade.
Marching bands and children in Santa hats waving pompoms were among those taking part in the parade when a vehicle sped through barricades and struck dancers, musicians and others.
A Waukesha police officer opened fire to try to stop the vehicle, authorities said.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson gave no immediate details about the person in custody or any possible motive.
Thompson said that he did not know if the driver was hit by the officer’s bullets but that no bystanders had been wounded.
On its social media account, the city of Waukesha put the number of dead at at least five.
The incident was recorded by the city’s livestream facility and onlookers’ mobile phones. One video shows the moment the SUV broke through the barricades and the sound of what were apparently several gunshots.
Another video shows a young child dancing in the street as the SUV speeds by, just a few feet from her, before it hurtles into parade participants a few hundred feet ahead. One video, of dancers with pompoms, ends with a group of people tending to a girl on the ground.
“There were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughter,” Corey Montiho told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray.”
The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies posted on their Facebook page that some of their members were among the dead. The organisation describes itself as a “group of grannies that meet once a week to practise routines for summer and winter parades”.
“Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness,” the post said.
“Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies. Their eyes gleamed … joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue … held us together.”
Chris Germain, co-owner of the Aspire Dance Centre studio, had about 70 people in the parade, including children as young as two being pulled in wagons and participants up to 18-years-old.
Germain, whose three-year-old daughter was in the parade, said he was driving at the head of their entry when he saw a maroon SUV that “just blazed right past us”. A police officer ran past in chase.
Germain said he jumped out of his own SUV and gathered the girls who were with him to safety. He then walked forward to see the damage.
“There were small children laying all over the road. There were police officers and EMTs (emergency medical technicians) doing CPR on multiple members of the parade,” he said.
Angelito Tenorio said he was watching the parade with his family when they saw the SUV come speeding into the area.
“Then we heard a loud bang,” Tenorio said. “And after that, we just heard deafening cries and screams from the crowd, from the people at the parade. And people started rushing, running away with tears in their eyes, crying.”
The Waukesha school district cancelled lessons today and said extra counsellors would be available for students and staff. The parade’s list of participants included cheer, dance and band entries associated with district schools.
Governor Tony Evers said he and his wife were “praying for Waukesha tonight and all the kids, families, and community members affected by this senseless act”.
The parade, held each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, is sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. This year’s event, the 59th, had the theme of “comfort and joy”.
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