A primary suspect, who ran over a Christmas parade in Waukesha, suburban Milwaukee, killing at least five people and injuring more than 40, has been identified. He has been taken into custody after a Waukesha police officer opened fire to try to stop the vehicle, authorities said.
The person taken into custody – the primary suspect – is identified as Darrell Brooks, law enforcement officials told the Associated Press. As per the report, Brooks was the driver of the red SUV that hit the parade. Police are yet to officially name the suspect.
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Investigators, according to an Associated Press source, are looking into whether the SUV driver was fleeing a crime.
The Associated Press found out that a person named Darrell Brooks Jr, also 39 years old, has two open criminal cases in Milwaukee County. He is charged with resisting or obstructing an officer, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, disorderly conduct, bail jumping and battery. He is also charged with reckless endangering and illegal possession of a firearm.
Brooks is believed to have been fleeing another scene – possibly a knife fight, a law enforcement officer told CBS.
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Waukesha Police Chief confirmed that he did not know if the driver was hit by the officer’s bullets but that no bystanders were wounded.
The video of the incident, when the SUV broke through the barricades, was captured by many cellphone users present on spot. The clips were also shared on social media.
“There were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughter,” Corey Montiho, a Waukesha school district board member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray.”
With inputs from the Associated
