At least 5 dead, over 40 injured after SUV slammed into Wisconsin Christmas parade; ‘person of interest’ in custody

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MILWAUKEE — Not less than 5 individuals are lifeless and over 40 individuals are injured when an SUV sped by means of a barricade and right into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee Sunday, officers confirmed.

Waukesha authorities confirmed the deaths in a press release late Sunday. Police stated the numbers might change as many individuals transported themselves to hospitals.

The Metropolis of Waukesha posted to its Twitter and Fb accounts revised casualty totals. “Right now, we will affirm that 5 individuals are deceased and over 40 are injured,” the assertion stated. “Nonetheless, these numbers could change as we accumulate extra info.”

Earlier, authorities stated 11 adults and 12 kids had been ferried to native hospitals. Others had been taken by family and friends. Kids’s Wisconsin hospital stated it had 15 sufferers and no fatalities.

Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson stated the investigation was ongoing, however {that a} “suspect car” was recovered and that there’s a individual of curiosity in custody in the intervening time.

A few of the injured had been taken by police to hospitals, and others had been taken by members of the family, Thompson stated, describing the incident as “very tragic” and “very chaotic.” He declined to present the precise variety of deceased people, citing the necessity to notify subsequent of kin first. 

The incident occurred throughout one of many metropolis’s largest and most cherished annual occasions because the pink SUV barreled down the road, plowing into parade contributors.

Movies posted to social media, together with a stay feed of the parade operated by the Metropolis of Waukesha, present a pink SUV breaking by means of boundaries and rushing into the roadway the place the parade was going down.

A police officer fired gunshots on the SUV in an try to cease it, Thompson stated, and no bystanders had been injured by the gunfire. He stated police do not consider any pictures had been fired from the SUV. 

Within the metropolis’s footage, taken from a distance, the SUV speeds into the parade simply behind a college marching band. A reporter on the scene stated {that a} pink SUV got here barreling down the road, and the gang might hear the thuds because it struck individuals, leaving many on the bottom. 

Corey Montiho, a Waukesha college district board member, stated his daughter’s dance crew was hit by the SUV.

“They had been pom-poms and footwear and spilled scorching chocolate in all places. I needed to go from one crumpled physique to the opposite to seek out my daughter,” he stated. “My spouse and two daughters had been virtually hit. Please pray for everyone. Please pray.”

“My household is secure however many aren’t. I held one little lady’s head in my hand, she was seizing and she or he was bleeding out of her ears. I held her mom as she collapsed. Please pray.”

The Waukesha Faculty District introduced on Fb that each one public faculties can be canceled on Monday.

Thompson stated it is unknown if the incident is linked to terrorism. 

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Purple car seen rushing in Wisconsin parade amid studies of accidents

A pink automobile was seen driving at velocity in a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., on November 21.

Metropolis of Waukesha by way of Storyful, Metropolis of Waukesha by way of Storyful

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers stated he and his spouse, Kathy, had been “praying for Waukesha tonight and all the youngsters, households, and neighborhood members affected by this mindless act.”

Waukesha County Govt Paul Farrow, who was on the parade however left simply earlier than the incident, known as it “an unspeakable tragedy, affecting us all as we work to beat a particularly difficult two years and resume our cherished vacation traditions.”

The parade is sponsored by town’s Chamber of Commerce. This yr’s version was the 59th of the occasion that’s held every year the Sunday earlier than Thanksgiving.

Waukesha is a western suburb of Milwaukee, and about 55 miles north of Kenosha, Wisconsin, the place Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted Friday of costs stemming from the capturing of three males throughout unrest in that metropolis in August 2020.

Contributing: Cathy Kozlowicz and Kaylee Staral, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; The Related Press