At least five people have been killed and 40 injured – including at least 12 children – after a speeding SUV plowed into a Christmas parade in suburban town near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday.
A red Ford Escape broke through barriers in Waukesha, Wisconsin, around 4.40pm as the parade was taking place and drove at speed through crowds, sending bodies flying as horrified families watched on helplessly.
Police say a ‘person of interest’ is now in custody, but no arrests have been made. ABC News cites an unnamed law enforcement source who says there might have been a second person in the vehicle.
Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson said no motive has yet been established, but officers are not discounting terrorism. Officers are also looking into the possibility that the suspect was fleeing an earlier incident involving a knife when he reached the parade, NBC said.
Detectives will not yet confirm if they believe the attack was a deliberate act of terror, or if the suspect lost control of the vehicle while fleeing an earlier crime. They have also refused to comment on whether the incident has anything to do with the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict in Kenosha, 50 miles away. A press conference has been scheduled for 2pm EST.
Chief Thompson said one officer fired at the vehicle in an unsuccessful bid to stop it, with witnesses saying it sped along the parade route and did not slow down even as it hit a schoolgirls’ dance troupe and elderly members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, along with families sitting by the side of the road.
Dozens of pieces of footage – intended to capture joyous scenes from the annual event – ended up capturing the carnage instead, revealing the car traveled at least three blocks down the parade route before breaking through barriers and speeding away.
He wasn’t fleeing anything. That is a lie put out by the media to excuse the fact that he deliberately ran down the Parade participants. BLM is claiming this may be the start of the revolution.