5 dead, over 40 injured after SUV speeds into Christmas parade in Wisconsin

A joyous scene of marching bands and children dancing in Santa hats and waving pompoms turned deadly in an instant as an SUV sped through barricades and into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee killing at least five people and injuring more than 40 othersOne video showed a woman screaming Oh my God repeatedly as a group of young dancers was struck Sunday A father talked of going iquestfrom one crumpled body to the otheriquest in search of his daughter Members of a Dancing Grannies club were among those hitThe city of Waukesha posted on its social media accounts late Sunday that it could confirm at least five died and more than 40 were injured while noting that it was still collecting information The citys statement also noted that many people took themselves to hospitals The city did not release any additional information about those who diedA iquestperson of interestiquest was in custody Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said but he gave no details about the person or any possible motive The investigation was ongoing with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of JusticeWhat took place in Waukesha today is sickening and I have every confidence that those responsible will be brought to justice Attorney General Josh Kaul the states top law enforcement officer tweetedThe horror was recorded by the citys livestream and onlookers cellphonesOne video shows the moment the SUV broke through the barricades and the sound of what appears to be several gunshots Thompson said a Waukesha police officer fired his gun to try to stop the vehicle No bystanders were injured by the gunfire and Thompson said he did not know if the driver was struck by the officers bulletsAnother video shows a young child dancing in the street as the SUV speeds by just a few feet from her before it hurtles into parade participants a few hundred feet ahead One video of dancers with pompoms ends with a group of people tending to a girl on the groundiquestThere were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughteriquest Corey Montiho a Waukesha school district board member told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel iquestMy wife and two daughters were almost hit Please pray for everybody Please prayiquestThe Milwaukee Dancing Grannies posted on its Facebook page that iquestmembers of the group and volunteers were impacted and we are waiting for word on their conditionsiquest The groups profile describes them as a iquestgroup of grannies that meet once a week to practice routines for summer and winter paradesiquestA Catholic priest multiple parishioners and Waukesha Catholic schoolchildren were among those injured the Archdiocese of Milwaukee spokeswoman Sandra Peterson saidChris Germain coowner of the Aspire Dance Centre studio had about 70 people in the parade ranging from as young as 2 being pulled in wagons to age 18 Germain whose 3yearold daughter was in the parade said he was driving at the head of their entry when he saw a maroon SUV that iquestjust blazed right past usiquestA police officer ran past in chase Germain said he jumped out of his own SUV and gathered the girls who were with him to safetyThen he walked forward to see the damageiquestThere were small children laying all over the road there were police officers and EMTs doing CPR on multiple members of the parade he saidAngelito Tenorio a West Allis alderman who is running for Wisconsin state treasurer said he was watching the parade with his family when they saw the SUV come speeding into the areaThen we heard a loud bang Tenorio said And after that we just heard deafening cries and screams from the crowd from the people at the parade And people started rushing running away with tears in their eyes cryingThe Waukesha school district cancelled classes Monday and said in a notice on its website that extra counsellors would be on hand for students and staff The parades list of entries included cheer dance and band entries associated with district schoolsGovernor Tony Evers said he and his wife Kathy were praying for Waukesha tonight and all the kids families and community members affected by this senseless actThe parade held each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving is sponsored by the citys Chamber of Commerce This years the 59th had the theme of comfort and joyWaukesha is a western suburb of Milwaukee and about 55 miles 90 km north of Kenosha where Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted Friday of charges stemming from the shooting of three men during unrest in that city in August 2020This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever