Suspect in Custody in Deadly Wisconsin Parade Incident

WAUKESHA, Wis. — A Milwaukee man accused of ramming his vehicle into a crowded Christmas parade over the weekend faced five counts of intentional homicide Monday as the toll of the attack — five dead and scores injured — cast a pall on a close-knit community that had been gearing up for the holidays.

Christmas songs gave way to sirens and screams Sunday afternoon as the driver of an SUV broke through barricades, ignoring the warnings of officers, and raced along the parade route. The driver, identified by authorities as Darrell E. Brooks, 39, had left the scene of a domestic disturbance moments before the incident, police said.

“I’d liken it to a war zone,” said Steve Howard, chief of the Waukesha Fire Department, his voice choked with emotion as he recounted the chaotic scene on Main Street. “Some of our first responders were there with their families — they left their families to treat people.”

A child as young as 3 was among those hospitalized. The dead included Wilhelm Hospel, who was 81. About 100 people were gathered in the cold Monday evening for a vigil.

The incident was not related to terrorism, and Brooks was not being pursued by police at the time, said Dan Thompson, chief of the Waukesha Police Department. The driver was captured shortly after speeding away from the scene, according to the chief, who said he was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene.

“We have no information that Brooks knew anyone in the parade,” Thompson added.

Brooks had been free on $1,000 bail in an earlier criminal case, in which he was accused of trying to run over the mother of his child in the parking lot of a Milwaukee gas station with his maroon 2010 Ford Escape earlier this month. A spokesman for the district attorney’s office Monday described the state’s bail recommendation in that earlier case as “inappropriately low” in light of the seriousness of the charges and “not consistent” with office policy.

“This office is currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bail recommendation in this matter in order to determine the appropriate next steps,” the statement said.

It was supposed to have been a celebratory night in Waukesha. Dance groups and high school bands and politicians were marching along Main Street in the Milwaukee suburb’s Christmas parade, which was returning from a pandemic hiatus.

Then, just before 4:40 p.m., the SUV stormed into the crowd, striking dozens, including members of an amateur dance group, the Milwaukee Dancing Grandmas, who were preforming in the parade.

David Durand, 52, whose wife, Tamara, was appearing with the group for the first time, raced to the scene when he learned of the carnage but found only chaos. The next time he saw his wife, he said, was at the morgue, where he identified her body.

“She was always like a cheerleader,” Durand said. “She literally danced her way through the day.”

Officials at Children’s Wisconsin, which treats only pediatric patients, said in a news conference Monday that it had treated 18 who were injured in the parade, including three sets of siblings. Of those 18 children, six were in critical condition, three were in serious condition, seven were in fair condition, and two had been discharged.

Another hospital, Aurora Medical Center–Summit, said in a statement Sunday that it was treating 13 patients, including three in critical condition. Officials at Froedtert Hospital said Monday they had treated seven patients.