Joy turns to horror as SUV speeds into Christmas parade

WAUKESHA, Wis. – A joyous country of marching bands and children dancing successful Santa hats and waving pompoms turned deadly successful an instant, arsenic an SUV sped done a barricade and into a Christmas parade successful suburban Milwaukee portion spectators watched successful horror.

One video showed a pistillate screaming, “Oh my God!” repeatedly arsenic a radical of young dancers was struck Sunday. A begetter talked of going “from 1 crumpled assemblage to the other” successful hunt of his daughter. Members of a “Dancing Grannies” nine were among those hit.

Police said “some” radical died successful the incidental successful downtown Waukesha soon earlier 5 p.m., but wouldn’t accidental however many, citing the request to notify adjacent of kin. At slightest 23 radical with injuries were taken to hospitals.

A “person of interest” was successful custody, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said, but helium gave nary details astir the idiosyncratic oregon immoderate imaginable motive. The probe was ongoing, with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice.

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“What took spot successful Waukesha contiguous is sickening, and I person each assurance that those liable volition beryllium brought to justice,” Attorney General Josh Kaul, the state’s apical instrumentality enforcement officer, tweeted.

The fearfulness was recorded by the city’s livestream and onlookers' cellphones. One video shows the infinitesimal the SUV broke done the barricades and the dependable of what appears to beryllium respective gunshots. Thompson said a Waukesha constabulary serviceman fired his weapon to effort to halt the vehicle. No bystanders were injured by the gunfire, and Thompson said helium did not cognize if the operator was struck by the officer’s bullets.

Fire Chief Steven Howard said 11 adults and 12 children were transported to hospitals by his department. It was chartless however galore radical were taken to hospitals by others. Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin said it received 15 patients from the parade and nary reported fatalities.

One video shows a young kid dancing successful the thoroughfare arsenic the SUV speeds by, conscionable a fewer feet from her, earlier it hurtles into parade participants a fewer 100 feet ahead. Another, of dancers with pompoms, ends with a radical of radical tending to a miss connected the ground.

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“There were pompoms and shoes and spilled blistery cocoa everywhere. I had to spell from 1 crumpled assemblage to the different to find my daughter,” Corey Montiho, a Waukesha schoolhouse territory committee member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “My woman and 2 daughters were astir hit. Please commune for everybody. Please pray.”

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies posted connected its Facebook leafage that “members of the radical and volunteers were impacted and we are waiting for connection connected their conditions.” The group’s illustration describes them arsenic a “group of grannies that conscionable erstwhile a week to signifier routines for summertime and wintertime parades.”

A Catholic priest, aggregate parishioners and Waukesha Catholic schoolchildren were among those injured, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee spokeswoman Sandra Peterson said.

Chris Germain, co-owner of the Aspire Dance Center studio, had astir 70 radical successful the parade ranging from arsenic young arsenic 2 being pulled successful wagons to property 18. Germain, whose 3-year-old girl was successful the parade, said helium was driving astatine the caput of their introduction erstwhile helium saw a maroon SUV that “just blazed close past us.” A constabulary serviceman ran past successful chase. Germain said helium jumped retired of his ain SUV and gathered the girls who were with him to safety.

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Then helium walked guardant to spot the damage.

“There were tiny children laying each implicit the road, determination were constabulary officers and EMTs doing CPR connected aggregate members of the parade," helium said.

Angelito Tenorio, a West Allis alderman who is moving for Wisconsin authorities treasurer, said helium was watching the parade with his household erstwhile they saw the SUV travel speeding into the area.

“Then we heard a large bang,” Tenorio said. “And aft that, we conscionable heard deafening cries and screams from the crowd, from the radical astatine the parade. And radical started rushing, moving distant with tears successful their eyes, crying.”

The Waukesha schoolhouse territory canceled classes Monday and said successful a announcement connected its website that other counselors would beryllium connected manus for students and staff. The parade’s database of entries included cheer, creation and set entries associated with territory schools.

Gov. Tony Evers said helium and his wife, Kathy, were “praying for Waukesha contiguous and each the kids, families, and assemblage members affected by this senseless act.”

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The parade, held each twelvemonth connected the Sunday earlier Thanksgiving, is sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. This year’s, the 59th, had the taxable of “comfort and joy.”

Waukesha is simply a occidental suburb of Milwaukee, and astir 55 miles (90 kilometers) northbound of Kenosha, wherever Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted Friday of charges stemming from the shooting of 3 men during unrest successful that metropolis successful August 2020.

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Bauer reported from Madison, Wis. Associated Press writer Doug Glass contributed from Minneapolis.

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