Waukesha Christmas parade attack: 5 dead, 48 injured, Darrell Brooks named as suspect: LIVE UPDATES

Waukesha residents laid out five crosses at a prayer vigil Monday night for the five people who were killed in the Christmas parade attack tragedy. (Fox News/Stephanie Pagones)

Waukesha residents came together on Monday evening to pay their respects to those who lost their lives in the Christmas parade tragedy on Sunday. 

"Our community is going to stick together and help each other heal during this process,” Jonathan Schoenfeldt, a Waukesha resident, told Fox News Digital at the vigil. “Everyone’s offering help to each other, whether that means just offering time to vent, through financial means, through material means, just people are here willing to help.”

The vigil was held at Cutler Park, just a block away from where a 39-year-old man plowed through a crowd in an SUV on Sunday, killing five people and injuring 48 others. 

"The evil in whatever form will roll over everyone in whatever form it takes unless someone stands against it,” Terry Cartwright, chaplain for South Waukesha County Search and Rescue, said at the vigil. "You have to confront it. Only God can stop it. But we can confront it. That’s what we are supposed to do.”

Five cross memorials were placed in front of the stage where several city leaders spoke, including Police Chief Dan Thompson and Mayor Shawn Reilly. 

"Even though there will be many painful nights ahead, and whether it is grieving the loss of a loved one, or healing from physical injuries, or recovering from extreme emotional pain, our presence says that we as a community will work together to help all heal,” Mayor Reilly told residents. 

“Tonight, this vigil is a small first step in healing for our community."

Multiple members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies were killed when a man driving an SUV plowed into a Christmas parade on Sunday in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

The members were Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, and Tamara Durand, 52. Wilhelm Hospel, 81, frequently helped the group and was also killed in the tragedy.

The Dancing Grannies, which describes itself on Facebook as a "group of grannies that meet once a week to practice routines for summer and winter parades," have been performing in parades since 1984.

"Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness," the Dancing Grannies wrote on Facebook. "While performing, the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds' cheers and applause which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts." 

Jane Kulich, 52, was also killed on Sunday and dozens of others were injured.

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Waukesha residents gathered Monday to remember those who were killed by a man who plowed through a Christmas parade. (Fox News/Stephanie Pagones)

Hundreds of people gathered at Cutler Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Monday evening for a prayer vigil to mourn those who were lost during the Christmas parade tragedy. 

“Yesterday’s tragic event demonstrated the character of this community. When tragedy struck this great city, the community responded,” Police Chief Dan Thompson said at the vigil. 

“Now is a time to grieve and mourn. I want to personally thank you all for being here.”

Five people were killed and at least 48 others were injured when a 39-year-old man driving an SUV plowed through the Christmas parade in Waukesha, a city of about 70,000. 

"This is the most peaceful loving town. Everyone is so friendly,” Brayden Kowalski, a 19-year-old who has lived in Waukesha his entire life, previously told Fox News. "I know people say, ‘You would never expect this to happen here.' But this is one of those towns. You would have never thought this would happen."

Waukesha parade attack suspect Darrell Brooks is a convicted sex offender who is wanted in Nevada for failure to obey sex offender laws, according to the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. 

Brooks was convicted in 2006 of having sex with a 15-year-old and conceiving a child with her. He was sentenced to probation but was arrested for failure to obey sex offender laws in 2016. Brooks then jumped bail on that charge and never appeared in court.

The Washoe Regional Sex Offender Notification Unit has an active warrant for his arrest and believed that he was in Wisconsin as recently as last month, but did not have confirmation of his whereabouts.

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Darrell Brooks will appear in court on Tuesday after allegedly plowing through a Christmas parade, killing five people and injuring dozens. (Wisconsin Department of Justice)

Waukesha District Attorney Susan L. Opper said that bail should be set so high against Darrell Brooks, the suspect in the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy, that he won't be able to get out of jail before trial.

"We don't have 'held without bail' in Wisconsin, but we will expect to be asking for high cash bail, significant cash bail so that for all intents and purposes, they don't have the ability to post it because it's so much money," Opper told Fox News Digital on Monday.

Brooks will appear at the Waukesha County Courthouse on Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. CT.

Police Chief Dan Thompson said earlier in the day that he referred five counts of first-degree intentional homicide against Brooks to the district attorney. Opper said her office does expect to file homicide charges, but she's "not committing to anything yet."

"You certainly may see that. It's just so early, we haven't been able to have that in-depth evaluation yet. So you may see that, you may not," she said.

Darrell Brooks, the lone suspect in the Waukesha Christmas parade tragedy, will be charged with initial counts at 4 p.m. CT on Tuesday, according to the Waukesha County District Attorney’s Office. 

Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said that Brooks will face five counts of first-degree intentional homicide, among other offenses. 

Brooks has a lengthy rap sheet and had just been let out of prison on a $1,000 bail earlier this month after he allegedly ran a woman over in the same SUV that he used to plow into Waukesha residents on Sunday.

Five people were killed and 48 others were injured, including two children in critical condition, when a 39-year-old man driving a maroon SUV plowed into a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday. 

The suspect, Darrell Brooks, will be charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and other offenses, according to police chief Dan Thompson. 

He was fleeing a domestic violence incident that occurred moments before the tragedy. 

"There is no evidence that this is a terrorist incident,” Chief Thompson said. "We have no information that Brooks knew anybody from the parade."

One officer discharged his firearm to try to stop the suspect, but did not strike Brooks or any bystanders.

"He drove right through the barricades and the officers,” Chief Thompson said. "When an officer tried to engage and stop the threat, he still continued through the crowd. 

Waukesha Fire Chief Steve Howard described the “carnage” that first responders saw as they provided medical aid to the injured. 

"What stands out in my mind from our conversations, we do have people with military backgrounds and they likened it to a war zone,” Howard said. 

Thompson noted that residents also immediately started working with first responders to triage victims and transport them to local hospitals. 

"Minutes after the incident occurred, I responded to the scene, and what I saw out of chaos and tragedy, was heroes,” Thompson said. 

The five deceased victims are 81-year-old Wilhelm Hospel, 79-year-old Virginia Sorenson, 71-year-old LeAnna Owen, 52-year-old Tamara Durand, and 52-year-old Jane Kulich.

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(Fox News Digital/Stephanie Pagones)

Officials in Waukesha, Wisconsin are preparing to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. ET.

Darrell Brooks is being questioned by police following the incident. (Waukesha Police Department)

Milwaukee prosecutors are conducting an internal review into their own office’s decision to make an "inappropriately low" bail recommendation for Darrell Brooks Jr., the person of interest in nearby Waukesha after an SUV plowed through a Christmas parade.

The horror left at least five people dead and 40 injured – including 18 children rushed to Children's Wisconsin hospital in Milwaukee.

Brooks has multiple pending cases in Milwaukee County – including a 2020 case involving two counts of second-degree recklessly endangering and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a spokesperson for Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm. Bail was originally set at $10,000 and later reduced to $7,500, the district attorney’s office said.

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Dr. Michael Meyer of the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin says of the 18 injured children his facility is treating, 10 are in its intensive care unit. 

Of those 10, six are in critical condition, three are in serious condition and one is in fair condition. 

Meyer did not disclose the ages of those injured in the Waukesha attack, but said the victims the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin is taking care of include three sets of siblings. 

“This is unique and truly demonstrates the devastating effects of this on our community,” he added. 

Attorney Joe Domask, who is currently representing Darrell Brooks in several Milwaukee cases, told Fox News on Monday that "I do not represent Mr. Brooks in any matters in Waukesha County or regarding the incident that occurred yesterday in Waukesha County.

"Nor will I be doing so in the future," Domask added.

"Here at Domask Law, our hearts are broken for all families affected by the tragedy at the Waukesha Parade," he continued. "The Waukesha community is dear to our hearts here and we joined in their sorrow. And we keep all those affected by this incident in our thoughts and prayers."

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The Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee says it has "helped treat 18 kids who were injured from the Waukesha Christmas Parade incident on Sunday, Nov. 21."

At 12 p.m. ET, the hospital is holding a virtual news conference to "share more information about how Children’s Wisconsin prepared to and continues to treat kids from the scene, and provide a high-level update on the kids in our care."

Crime scene tape has been set up Monday at the scene of the parade. (Fox News Digital/Stephanie Pagones)

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee says in a statement that "among the injured are one of our Catholic priests, as well as multiple parishioners and Waukesha Catholic school children."

"Please join us in prayer for all those involved, their families, and those who are traumatized from witnessing the horrible scene," it added.

(Fox News Digital/Stephanie Pagones)

Images taken by Fox News Digital reporter Stephanie Pagones show debris still scattered on the ground at the site of the parade in Waukesha on Sunday.

Former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin Rebecca Kleefisch responds to the tragedy that struck a Christmas parade in Waukesha and how the community plans to move forward.

The Waukesha Christmas parade person of interest has been identified as Darrell E. Brooks Jr., a Milwaukee man with a criminal history dating back to 1999 – with numerous violent felonies, court records show. (Wisconsin Department of Justice)

The man being questioned after a red SUV plowed through Waukesha's Christmas parade, killing at least five people and injuring dozens, has been identified as Darrell E. Brooks Jr., a Milwaukee man with a criminal history dating back to 1999 that includes numerous violent felonies.

Multiple senior law enforcement sources told Fox News that the 39-year-old longtime felon was being questioned in connection with the attack.

Police said early Monday that a red SUV plowed into pedestrians Sunday evening, killing five and injuring at least 40 more. Some of the victims were children.

He has a long rap sheet and a number of pending cases. Brooks’ most recent court appearance came on Nov. 5 for charges including reckless endangerment, battery, domestic abuse, resisting arrest and bail jumping. He was out on $1,000 bail for those charges at the time of the attack.

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Angela O'Boyle, who watched the events unfold from her balcony, says she couldn't believe what was happening and describes the footage she recorded as 'surreal.'

Jodi Singsime, a witness to the parade disaster, told 'Fox & Friends' on Monday that the driver of the vehicle "just came barreling right in front of us, right where we were standing. And then he kept going so we saw and heard everything."

Singsime, a nurse, says she then spotted "a little boy on the ground" who was "turning purple."

"He had a pulse, I felt his neck. There was another nurse there with me and we were talking about doing rescue breathing -- then at that moment we heard somebody say the medics are here. I got up and again someone came running past us and said 'active shooter' -- I think we heard it three different times so everybody cleared the streets and ran back into the shops and hunkered down in the shops again," she continued.

"When we came back out the final time, the streets -- there was just debris everywhere and it was pretty cleared up, people were being sent home," Singsime added.

According to the reporting of Fox News' David Spunt, local police received a report about a fight in a local park near the crash scene. 

Once they arrived, they found no fight but they saw a red SUV speeding off, and Darrell Brooks was later spotted in an SUV that matched the one leaving the park, Spunt reports.

Darrell Brooks is being questioned in the wake of the deadly incident. (Wisconsin Department of Justice)

Multiple senior law enforcement sources tell Fox News' David Spunt that Darrell Brooks, a 39-year-old from Wisconsin, is being questioned over the incident in Waukesha.

Those sources say this is not being investigated as terrorism at this time. 

Brooks has an extensive criminal history per these sources dating back more than a decade.

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, which describes itself on its Facebook page as "group of grannies that meet once a week to practice routines for summer and winter parades," says its members are among the five dead and more than 40 injured in the Waukesha Christmas parade incident.

"Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness," it said in a statement. "While performing the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds cheers and applause  which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts."

"Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies," the group also said, adding that "our hearts are heavy at this most difficult time, as more information and updates become available it will be posted."

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers has "ordered the flags of the United States and the state of Wisconsin to be flown at half-staff on Mon., Nov. 22, 2021, as a mark of respect for the victims of the tragedy at the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade," his office says in a statement.

The declaration comes after Evers released a message saying he, and his wife Kathy, are "praying for Waukesha tonight and all the kids, families, and community members affected by this senseless act.

"I'm grateful for the first responders and folks who acted quickly to help, and we are in contact with local partners as we await more information," Evers also said.

"This is a massive scene -- and a huge, huge investigation involving thousands of people, thousands of witnesses," Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Mark Sette tells 'Fox & Friends'. "This investigation is at its very infancy at this point."

Sette added that police are holding a press conference at 2 p.m. ET.

The public needs to be cautious about speculating on a motive for Sunday evening's Christmas parade horror in Waukesha, the president of the Wisconsin Fraternal Order of Police told Fox News in an interview. 

"Hours later, everything is still very fluid, right now," Ryan Windorff said late Sunday.  

The next step for investigators will be conducting witness interviews and reviewing footage from witnesses' phones and business security cameras, Windorff said. 

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Twitter

After Sunday’s Christmas parade horror in Waukesha, Wisconsin, an Illinois Democrat appeared to portray the tragedy as a form of payback for Friday’s acquittal of Kyle Rittenhouse in Kenosha.

"It was probably just self-defense," read one of a series of mocking social media posts from Mary Lemanski, who is listed as the social media director for the Democratic Party in DuPage County, Illinois.

Lemanski also describes herself as an acting student with the famed Second City comedy group.

"Living in Wisconsin, he probably felt threatened," read another post attributed to Lemanski, referring to the SUV driver in the Waukesha case.

The messages appeared to mock the self-defense argument that Rittenhouse and his defense team made during their recent trial – an argument with which a Wisconsin jury apparently agreed as they found the 18-year-old not guilty of murder in connection with two shooting deaths last year.

"The blood of Kyle Rittenhouse’s victims is on the hands of Wisconsin citizens," she writes at one point, "even the children."

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As news spread late Sunday about the Christmas parade tragedy in Waukesha, Wisconsin, it didn’t take long for messages of concern and support for the community to begin circulating.

Those posting messages or releasing statements included the White House, the top elected officials in Wisconsin and even the state’s pro sports teams.

"The White House is closely monitoring the situation in Waukesha and our hearts go out to everyone who has been impacted by this terrible incident," came a statement from Washington, D.C., according to FOX 6 of Milwaukee. "We have reached out to state and local officials to offer any support and assistance as needed."

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called the parade incident a "senseless act."

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Holiday decorations frame police investigators in downtown Waukesha, Wis., after an SUV plowed into a parade of Christmas marchers, killing multiple people Sunday, Nov. 21, 2021. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps)

Waukesha city officials early Monday confirmed that at least five people had died and more than 40 suffered injuries. They warned that both numbers could change.

More information was expected at a news conference expected later Monday.

AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Authorities in a Milwaukee suburb continued overnight to deal with the aftermath after a red SUV plowed into Christmas parade marchers and spectators Sunday evening, striking more than 20 adults and children.

Some fatalities occurred at the Waukesha event, police Chief Dan Thompson told reporters at an evening news conference, according to FOX 6 of Milwaukee.

Chilling videos on social media showed the SUV plowing into parade participants, with loud screams audible from those who witnessed the horror. Other videos showed people running to the aid of the injured people.

"Oh my God!" a woman shouts over and over in one video, after a group of girls in Santa Claus hats and waving white pompoms is struck. Another video shows members of a marching band being hit, The Associated Press reported.

Gunshots were heard in the area but authorities said they came from a police officer who was trying to stop the vehicle, the AP reported. No one was hurt by gunfire, authorities said.

In addition to taking one person into custody, authorities in Waukesha also recovered the vehicle linked to the parade tragedy, the AP reported.

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A Roman Catholic priest, multiple parishioners and Catholic schoolchildren were among those injured at the parade, an Archdiocese of Milwaukee spokeswoman told the AP.

Parade performers the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies also were affected by the tragedy. The group shared on Facebook that they were awaiting more information about their members who were injured.

"Please keep the Grannies, all those injured, and all those who witnessed this horrible event in your thoughts and prayers," the group wrote.

"There were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere," Corey Montiho, a Waukesha school board member and parent told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. "I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to fund my daughter. My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray."