The lone suspect in the Waukesha parade accident appeared in court today, as Wisconsin suffered a tragedy that left five people dead and dozens injured.
“We are working closely with the Waukesha City Police Department to review the matter and determine what criminal charges will be brought,” the DA’s office said Monday. Police said they will address five counts of attempted murder as well as other counts.
Brooks was released from prison less than two weeks ago in a domestic abuse case — on a $1,000 bond that prosecutors recommended and now say is “an inappropriately low level.”
Video from the scene shows a tragedy unfolding as witnesses describe the pain of seeing a pedestrian hit by a vehicle. In the ensuing chaos, first responders and residents worked to treat the victims, with some officers and residents transporting the injured in their personal vehicles to the hospital. , Thompson said.
48 people have been treated at area hospitals, according to Steve Howard, Waukesha Fire Chief.
Brooks was involved in a disturbance in the home with another person shortly before driving his SUV through the parade, Thompson said, noting that police were unable to answer the initial call. about the incident because reports of what had happened at the parade came out quickly afterward.
According to multiple law enforcement sources familiar with the preliminary results of the investigation, signs from authorities suggested that Brooks was on the run following the initial incident. Police said there was no police pursuit of Brooks leading up to the parade.
Police barricaded themselves near the parade, and Brooks was driving past them when an officer tried to stop him, Thompson said.
Sheriff Waukesha opened fire to try to stop the vehicle after it hit a pedestrian, and no bystanders were hit by the officer’s gunfire, the sheriff said. Thompson added that he did not believe any shots were fired from the vehicle and said the incident was not a terrorist event.
According to Thompson, the SUV was identified shortly after, and Brooks was subsequently apprehended.
The suspect has been released on bail
Brooks was released on bail on November 11 related to charges including domestic abuse. That incident also involved Brooks allegedly using a car to cause injury, according to the criminal complaint.
On November 2, according to the complaint, Brooks ran over a woman as she was walking through a gas station parking lot. “Officers observed tire marks on her left trouser leg,” the criminal complaint claims.
Prosecutors filed five charges in connection with the incident including obstruction of an officer, recklessly endangering safety in the second degree with domestic abuse assessments, disorderly conduct with assessment. domestic abuse and misdemeanor rating with family abuse rating.
In a statement, the Milwaukee DA office said it should not have offered Brooks such a low bail and that it had launched an internal review of the decision.
“The State’s bail offer in this case is disproportionately low given the nature of the recent and pending charges against Mr Brooks,” the office said. “The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office’s approach to matters involving violent crime, nor is it consistent with the defendant’s prior risk assessment when setting up the guarantee.”
CNN has reached out to Brooks’ attorney from the incident that occurred in 2020 and early November 2021 about the DA’s statement but has not received a response.
Brooks also has an arrest warrant outstanding in Nevada in an unrelated case for which he was arrested and released on bail, authorities said. CNN has reached out to Brooks’ previous attorney but has had no response.
According to Sarah Johns, a spokeswoman for the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, authorities in Nevada issued a positive order against Brooks on August 15, 2016. Johns said detectives later determined Brooks is in Wisconsin. “However, detectives have no viable intelligence on Brooks’ exact location.”
The victim is still being treated at the hospital
According to Dr. Amy Drendel, director of the hospital’s emergency department and trauma center, 18 children, between the ages of 3 and 16, were taken to Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
“Injuries range from scratches on the face, broken bones to serious head injuries. Six of these patients were taken to the operating room last night,” Mr. Drendel said at a news conference on Monday. and two other patients undergoing surgery today.”
The hospital accepts patients transported from nearby hospitals with varying degrees of injuries, Drendel said, “some conscious and others unconscious.” The majority of patients arrived by ambulance after being evaluated at other facilities, where it was determined that they required a higher level of care.
Michael Meyer, medical director of the hospital’s pediatric intensive care unit, the two children were discharged from the hospital on Monday.
Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee received seven patients from the parade, according to hospital spokeswoman, Nalissa Wienke, and their status has yet to be released. Froedtert is the only Level I trauma center in southeastern Wisconsin, typically used to care for the most critically ill patients.
Four people were admitted to ProHealth Waukesha Memorial Hospital. Three people have been discharged and one remains in stable condition as of Monday evening, the hospital said in a statement.
Paul P. Murphy, Raja Razek, Dave Alsup, Holly Yan, Amir Vera, Joe Sutton, Keith Allen, Shimon Prokupecz and Evan Perez of CNN contributed to this report.
