The tragic night of the Christmas parade at Waukesha, Wisconsin, is currently under investigation by authorities, and the suspect responsible seems to have more history with crime. Police Chief Dan Thompson revealed that though the suspect acted alone, there could be an intentional homicide charge on him for the 5 people who died due to his reckless driving.
“We are confident he acted alone. There is no evidence this is a terrorist incident,” said Thompson. Darrell E. Brooks is a 39 year old man, and he was involved in a domestic disturbance early on Sunday, involving a knife. Brooks was trying to flee that incident before law enforcement arrived, when he marched into the Waukesha parade, trampling people.
He could be facing 5 charges of homicide, that too intentionally, in addition to more for possession of a dangerous weapon. He neither injured himself, as officers on the scene tried to stop him by firing at his SUV nor used any weapon to hurt anyone. People who died in the Waukesha parade involved 4 women and a man, between the ages of 52 to 81, namely, Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
The City of Waukesha posted about the incident report and investigation, including tips and aid information for people who want to help with the investigation. “Our prayers go out to all the victims of this tragedy. This senseless act resulted in five deaths and 48 injured (that number may rise).” Read the Facebook post.
The post included a link for any reports, personal videos people might have record of the incident, as well as a link on where to donate. It added, “We are looking for video that a person captured themselves – not video they saw on someone’s social media page. We are only looking for footage of the incident, not the aftermath of the event.”
People who would like to donate and help the families of those deceased and injured (more than 48 people, including many children, are injured), you can do so at Waukesha Foundation. For those disturbed by the traumatic event, the post included details of someone to reach out to talk to, “Many people witnessed traumatic events last evening. If you need to talk to someone, you can call or text 800-985-5990 to be connected to a trained, caring counselor – they are available 24/7. Please only call 911 for emergencies.”
Earlier, before the Waukesha parade, Brooks was convicted for running over a woman at a gas station. He was charged with obstructing an officer; second-degree recklessly endangering safety with domestic abuse assessments; disorderly conduct with domestic abuse assessments; and misdemeanor battery with domestic abuse assessments, for that incident. He was out on $1,000 bail just earlier this month, which the County Attorney described as “inappropriately low.”
