5 counts of homicide recommended for man suspected of driving through Wisconsin Christmas parade

5 counts of homicide recommended for man suspected of driving through Wisconsin Christmas parade

By Dennis Romero, Tom Winter, Jonathan Dienst and Marlene Lenthang
A Wisconsin man was arrested and accused of driving an SUV into crowds at the Waukesha Christmas parade on Main Street as revelers watched in horror, officials said Monday.

The man, Darrell E. Brooks, 39, was booked on suspicion of five counts of intentional homicide, Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson told reporters.

City officials identified the four women and the man who were killed as Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, Jane Kulich, 52, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.

There were 48 additional injuries, included two to children who in critical condition, police said.

Brooks "intentionally drove his maroon SUV through barricades and into a crowd of people" at 4:39 p.m. Sunday, Thompson said.

Brooks had been involved in a domestic incident involving a knife before the crash, but it was not clear who the victim was, law enforcement sources said.

Brooks had fled scene of the domestic disturbance just as officers were arriving and then got redirected to the parade, police said.

"Was there an initial complaint of a knife being involved? Yes," Thompson said. "Do we know if there actually was one there? We don’t know, because we didn’t even make it there. We ended up immediately responding to the crisis."

An officer opened fire on the SUV but quickly stopped shooting, believing there were too many people nearby, Thompson said. No one was shot.

Brooks was taken into custody shortly after the collisions.

Video from the scene showed the red SUV speeding down the parade route and barreling into the crowd while a band was playing. It went through barricades set up for the parade before it struck people, Thompson said.

An officer opened fire in an attempt to stop the SUV, said Thompson, who said police were no longer searching for it.

On Sunday afternoon, spectators gathered along the street in downtown Waukesha to watch the procession of floats, classic cars and dancing children. Video from just before the incident showed spectators standing and sitting in chairs, watching a marching band perform.