MILWAUKEE – An SUV plowed into a Christmas parade in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, killing several people and injuring at least 20, authorities said Sunday.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said the investigation is still ongoing, but “a suspicious vehicle” has been recovered and a person with an interest is currently in custody.
Some of the injured were taken to the hospital by police, and others were taken away by family members, Thompson said, describing the incident.are “very tragic” and “very chaotic.”He said he did not have an exact count of who was killed, but there were fatalities.
Eleven adults and 12 children were transported by the Waukesha Fire Department to local hospitals, Fire Police Chief Steve Howard said at a news conference.
Police in Waukesha, about 20 miles west of Milwaukee, said the scene was secured. .
The incident occurred during one of the city’s biggest and most beloved annual events when the red SUV plowed down the street, slamming into marchers.
Videos posted to social media, including a live feed of the parade run by the City of Waukesha, showed a red SUV breaking through barriers and speeding into the roadway where it took place. parade.
A police officer fired a shot at the SUV in an attempt to stop it, Thompson said, and no witnesses were injured by the gunfire. He said police do not believe any shots were fired from the SUV.
In the city shot, shot from a distance, the SUV sped into the parade just behind a school marching band. A reporter present at the scene said that a red SUV plunged down the road and the crowd could hear a loud noise when it hit people, leaving many people on the ground.
Corey Montiho, a member of the Waukesha school board, said his daughter’s dance team was hit by an SUV.
“They were pom-poms, shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from crumpled body to body to find my daughter,” he said. “My wife and two daughters almost got shot. Please pray for everyone. Please pray.”
“My family is safe but many are not. I held a little girl’s head in my arms, she had convulsions and bleeding from her ear. I held her mother as she collapsed. Please pray.”
Thompson said it was not clear whether the incident was terrorism-related.
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‘Screaming screams’: Eyewitness describes chaos
Angelito Tenorio, a West Allis farmer running for Wisconsin state treasurer, said he had just finished the parade with family and friends before he saw the car drive past the parade.
“We saw an SUV pass by, just put the pedals on the metal and sped along the parade route,” said Tenorio. “And then we heard a big bang, just shrill screams and screams from people getting hit by cars. And then we saw people running away or stopped crying, and there were people on the street. the ground looked as if they had been hit. by means.”
Tenorio said he saw about 10 people, children and adults, on the ground, who appeared to have been hit by the vehicle.
He added, “It all just happened so fast.”
Alderman Don Paul Browne said he was marching before the parade and was almost home when his wife texted him asking if he was okay.
“I was shocked,” he said. “This parade draws people from all over, even Jefferson County. I’m frostbitten. It’s pretty upsetting.”
He added, “My intention was to try to help, but that may be the last thing the police will ever need. The best I can do is be a source of information to everyone. Now we are. having to worry about the shootings. It breaks my heart.”
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said he and his wife, Kathy, were “praying for Waukesha tonight and all the children, families and community members affected by this senseless act.”
Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow, who was at the parade but left shortly before the incident, called it “an indescribable tragedy that affects all of us. as we work through two extremely challenging years and continue our lovely holiday tradition.”
The parade was sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. This year’s edition is the 59th edition of the event held annually on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.
Waukesha is a western suburb of Milwaukee, and about 55 miles north of Kenosha, Wisconsin, where Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted on Friday of charges stemming from the shooting of three men in a state of indiscrimination. okay in that city in August 2020.
Contributors: Cathy Kozlowicz and Kaylee Staral, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Related press
