A police officer uses a flashlight while searching for evidence in downtown Waukesha, Wis., after an SUV plowed through a barricade and plowed into a Christmas parade, killing and injuring some people on Sunday.
Jeffrey Phelps / AP
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Jeffrey Phelps / AP
A police officer uses a flashlight while searching for evidence in downtown Waukesha, Wis., after an SUV plowed through a barricade and plowed into a Christmas parade, killing and injuring some people on Sunday.
Jeffrey Phelps / AP
Authorities in Waukesha, Wis., announced Monday that 39-year-old Darrell Brooks Jr. has been charged with murder after he allegedly drove his car into a Christmas parade over the weekend, killed five people and wounded at least 40 others. .
Brooks acted alone, authorities said at a news conference Monday afternoon. He was involved in a “domestic riot” shortly before crashing his SUV into the parade. Authorities say police were not involved in the pursuit of the suspect at the time of the incident, but that one officer fired multiple shots at Brooks’ car as he drove through the parade.
Brooks has a criminal history in Wisconsin. In 2020, he was charged with reckless endangerment of safety and felony possession of a firearm, according to documents from the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office provided to NPR.
The documents also show that Brooks had previously used his vehicle to cause harm. Earlier this month, he confronted a woman outside a motel. He shoved the phone out of her hand and drove off. He then turned around, punched her in the face, and drove over with her car. The report noted that the woman had tire marks on her pants along with other injuries from the incident.
Brooks was charged in that incident on November 5, but his bail is only set at $1,000. On November 11, he registered on bail and was released.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said in an emailed statement to NPR that the state’s bail recommendation is “inconsistent with the nature of the recent and pending charges against with Mr. Brooks.”
“The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office’s approach to matters involving violent crime, nor is it consistent with the defendant’s prior risk assessment when setting the guarantee,” the statement said.
Chisholm’s office added that it was conducting an internal review of the decision to ask for bail, but made no mention of the Christmas parade attack for which Brooks has been charged.
