(New York) It was a sign of a certain normality in Waukesha, a small town in Wisconsin. After a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, the traditional Christmas parade was back on Sunday in this suburb located 30 km west of Milwaukee.
But the reassuring array of citizens and politicians marching and dancing to the beat of marching bands along Main Street turned into a nightmare around 4:39 p.m., when the driver of a red SUV knocked down barriers and charged into the crowd. The vehicle hit more than 20 people, including at least 11 adults and 12 children, killing several people.
“Today our community faced horror and tragedy in what should have been a community celebration,” Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly said at an evening press conference, lamenting a “horrible and senseless act”.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson announced that a person of interest had been arrested and the SUV had been recovered. He said a police officer opened fire on the vehicle in an attempt to stop its course.
PHOTO JOHN HART, WISCONSIN STATE JOURNAL VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS
Local Police Chief Dan Thompson
“No one was injured as a result of the weapon being discharged,” he said.
He did not put forward any hypothesis to explain the drama. Witnesses described the driver of the SUV as male, but police did not confirm this information. The next press conference for city officials is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m.
PHOTO JEFFREY PHELPS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
A person of interest has been arrested, Waukesha police said on Sunday evening.
According to videos posted on social media on Sunday, the vehicle rolled without hitting several parade participants and spectators before approaching briskly a compact group of people who were near the end of the route.
“My dance team was about to turn the corner to finish the parade,” wrote to Press Lindsay Eckert, who ran a dance team.
I turned to face my dancers and saw a red SUV drive through a group of people. The car rushed past our group. A parent barely pulled a student off the road.
Lindsay Eckert, who led a dance team at the parade
No member of Lindsay Eckert’s group was injured.
“But about [20 mètres] behind us, we could see many bodies in the street, surrounded by people trying to help them, ”she added.
PHOTO JEFFREY PHELPS, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Abandoned chairs at the edge of the sidewalk
Corey Montiho, one of whose daughters also participated in the parade as part of a dance team, was among the rescuers.
“There were pom poms, shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere,” told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel this member of the Waukesha school board. “I had to go from one collapsed body to another to find my daughter. My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everyone. Please pray. My family is safe, but many are not. I held a little girl’s head in my hand, she was having convulsions and bleeding from her ears. I held her mother, who collapsed. Please pray. ”
Members of a dance group called the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies were also beaten.
“Please keep the grannies, all the injured people and all those who witnessed this horrible event in your thoughts and your prayers”, could we read Sunday evening on the Facebook page of this group whose only one admission criteria is to be a grandmother.
PHOTO JOHN HART, ASSOCIATED PRESS
The vehicle hit more than 20 people, including at least 11 adults and 12 children.
Police quickly cordoned off downtown Waukesha after the SUV passed. At around 6 p.m., police declared the place safe again.
“Terrible incident”
Messages of support poured in from everywhere.
“Kathy and I pray for Waukesha tonight and for all the children, families and community members affected by this senseless act,” Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers tweeted.
The White House has let it be known that it is monitoring “the situation in Waukesha closely”.
“We are wholeheartedly with all those who have been affected by this terrible incident,” she added.
The town of Waukesha, which has just over 71,000 residents according to the 2020 census, is the county seat of the same name. A county which occupies an essential place in the political life of Wisconsin, being the most important and irreducible Republican stronghold of the state.
Lyndon Johnson, in 1964, is the last Democrat to have triumphed there in a presidential election. In 2008, when Barack Obama defeated Republican presidential candidate John McCain by 13.9 percentage points in Wisconsin, he lost that county by 25.7 percentage points.
This brings Wisconsin back into the spotlight for the second time in just a few days. Last Friday, a Kenosha jury created a stir by acquitting Kyle Rittenhouse, this young white man who had killed two people with an AR-15 on the sidelines of protests against racism and police brutality on August 25, 2020 in this city located in the south of the state.
Repeated truck attacks
Sunday’s truck attack in Wisconsin is not an isolated case: this type of crime has been perpetrated in several cities around the world in recent years.
London, 2021
PHOTO NICOLE OSBORNE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Rally in memory of the victims of the attack in London, Ontario, last June
Five members of a Muslim family were broke on June 6, 2021 in London, Ontario. The driver, Nathaniel Veltman, 20, deliberately hit the family because of his faith. Salman Afzaal, his wife Madiha Salman, their daughter Yumna Salman and Mr. Afzaal’s mother, Talat Afzaal, were killed while walking on the sidewalk. The couple’s 9-year-old son was seriously injured. Nathaniel Veltman faces four counts of premeditated murder and one of attempted murder.
Toronto, 2018
PHOTO AARON VINCENT ELKAIM, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS
Alek Minassian mowed down 10 people in his pickup truck in Toronto in April 2018.
The driver of a white pickup truck mowed down 10 people on April 23, 2018, in addition to injuring 16 others, on the sidewalk of a busy Toronto street in the North York neighborhood. Almost three years later, in March 2021, Alek Minassian, the perpetrator, was found guilty of all counts against him, including 10 counts of premeditated murder and 16 counts of attempted murder.
Charlottesville, 2017
PHOTO RYAN M. KELLY, ARCHIVES ASSOCIATED PRESS
Attack in Charlottesville, August 12, 2017
A rally of white supremacists was the scene of a truck-ram attack in Charlottesville, Va., On August 12, 2017. 20-year-old neo-Nazi James Fields stormed into a group of anti-racist counter-protesters, killing an activist and injuring nearly 20 others. That same day, a Virginia State Police helicopter, which was monitoring the event from above, crashed, killing the pilot and his passenger.
Nice, 2016
PHOTO VALERY HACHE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Attack on the Promenade des Anglais, in Nice, July 14, 2016
The Promenade des Anglais, at the edge of the Mediterranean, in Nice, was marked by a bloody crime on July 14, 2016. The driver of a 19-ton truck rushed into a dense crowd, gathered for the celebration French national. No less than 86 people were killed. The driver was shot dead by police while driving the vehicle. The Islamic State armed group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Berlin, 2016
PHOTO ODD ANDERSEN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Attack in Berlin, December 19, 2016
A tragedy shook the holding of a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany on December 19, 2016. A truck rushed into the crowd, killing 12 people and injuring 48. One of the victims was found in the cabin of the black vehicle, and was shot dead. German Chancellor Angela Merkel sparked controversy at the time by calling the drama “a terrorist act”, implying that the suspect was probably an asylum seeker.