Five Dead in Wisconsin After Driver Plows Into Waukesha Christmas Parade

“It’s unclear right now whether or not the incident has any nexus to terrorism,” Chief Thompson stated.

The variety of deaths and people injured would possibly change as further data is collected, town stated in a

Fb

publish early Monday. Many individuals had taken themselves to the hospital after the incident, it stated.

The parade began at 4 p.m. Central time on this Milwaukee suburb, and the incident came about about 4:40 p.m., Chief Thompson stated.

A law-enforcement official stated one chance that authorities are inspecting is whether or not the motive force was fleeing from the scene of against the law. The official stated there had been an earlier altercation involving a knife.

Kaylee Staral, an intern with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper, was in Waukesha to observe the parade together with her mom and stepfather.

She was standing together with her household on Most important Road together with different households, many with younger kids who have been lined up, two rows deep in some locations, watching the parade. A couple of half-hour into the parade, simply after the Waukesha Xtreme Dance group—a middle-school dance group—glided by, she heard screaming and noticed the SUV come down the road.

She noticed the automobile hit some folks, however didn’t bear in mind which group they have been a part of.

“All of it occurred so quick,” she stated. “It stored going and positively didn’t cease.”

Individuals fled into storefronts, she stated, and her mom and stepfather ran over to assist folks.

Quickly, a police officer with a radio was shut sufficient that she heard somebody say over it that pictures had been fired. When her household heard there was gunfire, they left the scene, she stated.

Police fired to attempt to cease the automobile, which was why bystanders heard gunshots, Chief Thompson stated. The FBI’s Milwaukee area workplace is conscious of the incident however native and state authorities are main the response right now, an FBI spokesperson stated.

Waukesha County Government

Paul Farrow

stated he had simply completed collaborating within the parade when the incident occurred.

“That is an unspeakable tragedy, affecting us all as we work to beat an especially difficult two years and resume our cherished vacation traditions,” Mr. Farrow wrote on Twitter.

All routes into town’s historic downtown on the Fox River have been closed off by emergency autos with flashing lights Sunday night. Downtown residents have been directed to park their automobiles on the website of the farmers market, present ID to officers and stay of their properties till streets are reopened.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee stated that certainly one of its clergymen was amongst these injured, in addition to a number of parishioners and Waukesha Catholic schoolchildren. “Please be a part of us in prayer for all these concerned, their households, and those that are traumatized from witnessing the horrible scene,” the archdiocese stated in a press release.

Waukesha is a suburb of 70,000 folks west of Milwaukee. The Christmas parade is in its 58th 12 months, with individuals starting from stilt walkers and firefighters to politicians and the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a gaggle of grandmothers who carry out choreographed routines, in response to town Chamber of Commerce.

The Dancing Grannies stated that a few of its members have been amongst these killed, but it surely didn’t say what number of. “Our group was doing what they cherished, performing in entrance of crowds in a parade placing smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with pleasure and happiness, the group stated in a Fb publish. “Those that died have been extraordinarily passionate Grannies.”

Video circulated on social media virtually instantly of the moments main as much as and together with the crash, exhibiting dancers and members of marching bands being struck by the SUV, with spectators screaming particular person names and speeding in to assist the injured. There have been pompoms, folding chairs and devices strewn over the road, in response to video footage.

The incident shut down the group.

Close by Carroll College was locked down. The Waukesha Faculty District canceled Monday’s lessons, in response to a press release from the district’s superintendent and deputy Sunday night, including that the district can have counselors out there throughout the faculty day for many who want help companies.

“At the moment, we’re working with the police division to extra totally comprehend all the tragic particulars of this unlucky occasion,” the assertion stated.

Waukesha’s mayor, Shawn Reilly, stated at a information convention that his coronary heart went out to “these affected by this mindless act.”

“I’m deeply saddened that so many in our group went to a parade, however ended up coping with harm and heartache,” he stated.

Mary Jane Anttila stated she was marching within the parade as a member of the Wisconsin Diamond Dancers when the SUV sped previous her group. The Diamond Dancers, a gaggle of girls who’re over 50 years outdated, have been simply beginning to dance to the third music of their routine.

“That automobile glided by so quick I couldn’t see the individual in there in any respect,” she stated.

“We stopped our efficiency,” she stated, as folks in her group all puzzled what was occurring, particularly as a result of they hadn’t seen the automobile approaching in any respect till it sped by them from behind.

“He stored going, and all these folks have been screaming and crying, and we realized he had hit folks,” Ms. Anttila stated. Quickly after, a melee of individuals, police automobiles and ambulances flooded the parade.

Corrections & Amplifications
Mary Jane Anttila’s final identify was misspelled Antila in a single occasion in an earlier model of this text. (Corrected on Nov. 22)

Write to Valerie Bauerlein at valerie.bauerlein@wsj.com, Ben Kesling at benjamin.kesling@wsj.com and Joe Barrett at joseph.barrett@wsj.com