Waukesha parade incident suspect charged with 5 counts of first-degree intentional homicide (2024)

Prosecutors officially charged Darrell Brooks with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide on Tuesday.

Brooks was arrested on Sunday after allegedly using his SUV to plow through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, killing five and injuring dozens more.

Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said during a press conference on Monday that his office had recommended the charges to the district attorney.

Darrell Brooks, the suspect in Sunday's fatal incident at theWaukeshaChristmasparade, is expected to have his his initial court appearance in court at 5:00 p.m. ET.

Police said they would refer five counts of intentional homicide against the Milwaukee man after they say he barreled into the Waukesha Christmas parade Sunday,killing five peopleand injuring 48 more — includingat least 18 children.

Brooks was released from jail less than two weeks ago afterallegedly using a vehicle to run over a woman who said she was the mother of his child, court documents show.

The woman survived the Nov. 2 incident and was taken to a hospital for her injuries, according to a criminal complaint.

Prosecutors filed five charges related to the incident, including obstructing an officer, second-degree recklessly endangering safety with domestic abuse assessments, disorderly conduct with domestic abuse assessments and misdemeanor battery with domestic abuse assessments.

Brooks was released from jail Nov. 11 on $1,000 bail — an amount the Milwaukee County district attorney's office had recommended but now questions.

Waukesha, Wisconsin, Police Chief Dan Thompson said officials are referring five charges of intentional homicide for Darrell E. Brooks, the suspect in Sunday’s incident at the Christmas parade.

"At this time, the WaukeshaPolice Department is referringfive counts of first-degree intentionalhomicide, with additionalchargesbased on the investigation," Thompson said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Brooks is accused of careening his SUV into a Wisconsin parade, killing five people and injuring 48 others. He is the lone suspect in Sunday's tragedy, Thompson said.

The charges against him include: Obstructing an officer, second-degree recklessly endangering safety with domestic abuse assessments, disorderly conduct with domestic abuse assessments and misdemeanor battery with domestic abuse assessments.

Brooks will have his initial appearance in court on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET (4 p.m. local time).

You can read more about the investigation here.

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies shared an update on Tuesday morning, posting photos of three of the members who died in the Waukesha parade incident.

The group also posted photos of Waukesha victims Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71 and Tamara Durand, 52.

The Dancing Grannies was formed in 1984 from what was originally a jazzercise group, one of the members toldCNN affiliate WDJTearlier this year.

CNN's Theresa Waldrop contributed reporting to this post.

Court and inmate records, in addition to the Nevada sex offender registry, show that the suspect authorities say is behind the fatal Waukesha parade incident is a registered sex offender in Nevada.

Darrell Brooks, according to the documents, pleaded guilty to statutory sexual seduction in November 2006.

Additional details about the case were not immediately available.

Brooks, according to Nevada inmate records, served his sentence in the Northern Nevada Correctional Center from March 2007 to September 2008.

CNN has been unable to identify Brooks' lawyer for this case.

Brooks may be charged with five counts of intentional homicide when he appears in a Waukesha court later today.

Some background: The celebratory sounds of aWisconsin Christmas paradewere interrupted by terrified screams Sunday after a vehicle plowed into participants and spectators gathered for the event in Waukesha, a city about 20 miles west of downtown Milwaukee.

You can read more about how events unfolded here.

The tragedy inWaukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday brought the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies into a sad spotlight.

Members of the group were among the five people killed when an SUV driver slammedinto a Christmas parade, according to itsFacebook page.

The Grannies who died "were extremely passionate," the post said. "Their eyes gleamed.....joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue....held us together."

Who are the Grannies and what do they do?

For one, they probably aren't your grandma's grandmas.

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies have been bringing joy to Wisconsin parade crowds from Memorial Day to Christmas, sashaying with their pompoms in costumes that fit the occasion, for decades.

The only requirement to be a member is to be a grandmother, the group says.

The Dancing Grannies was formed in 1984 from what was originally a jazzercise group, one of the members toldCNN affiliate WDJTearlier this year.

They go out to dinners together and carpool to a parade in Minnesota once a year, a member told WDJT. "It's a good time," she said.

The group was devastated by Sunday's tragedy, the group said in Facebook.

"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 man accused of careening his SUV into a Wisconsin parade, killing five people and injuring 48 others, was out on bond after allegedly running over a woman who said she's the mother of his child earlier this month, according to court documents.

Darrell E. Brooks, 39, of Milwaukee is the lone suspect in Sunday's tragedy, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said.

Brooks may be charged with five charges of intentional homicide, and more charges are possible, Thompson said.

Now, some are wondering why Brooks was released on $1,000 bond after allegedly running over a woman on Nov. 2 — an amount the district attorney's office now calls "inappropriately low."

About the Nov. 2 incident: Brooks is accused of running over a woman with his car while she was walking through a gas station parking lot on Nov. 2, according to a criminal complaint. The woman Brooks allegedly ran over with his car in the Nov. 2 incident told authorities that she was the mother of his child, according to the criminal complaint.

Prosecutors filed five charges related to the incident including: obstructing an officer; second-degree recklessly endangering safety with domestic abuse assessments; disorderly conduct with domestic abuse assessments; and misdemeanor battery with domestic abuse assessments.

Brooks was also charged with bail jumping because he was already out on bail following an incident from July 24, 2020, according to court documents.

The Milwaukee District Attorney's office now says it should not have recommended such a low bail for Brooks and have launched an internal review into the decision.

"The State's bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks," the office's said in a statement.

"The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail."

CNN reached out to Brooks' attorney from the 2020 and earlier November 2021 incident about the district attorney's statement, but has not yet received a response.

Read more here.

TheWaukeshaSchool District has announced they will be closed Tuesday, according to a post on the district’s website and social media accounts.

Classes are expected to resume Monday following the holiday break.

Five people were killed and48 were injuredafter a red SUV sped into Waukesha's Christmas parade Sunday afternoon.

The five deceased victims from Sunday's incident range in age from 52 to 81 and include four women and one man, according to Police Chief Dan Thompson.

The city of Waukesha confirmed the names of the victims Monday as Virginia Sorenson, 79; LeAnna Owen, 71; Tamara Durand, 52; Jane Kulich, 52 and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.

Here's what we know about some of the victims:

LeAnna Owen: The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies posted a statement on Facebook Monday, saying members of the group were among the dead Sunday inWaukesha, Wisconsin.

One of those women was Owen, who had been the manager at Packard Glen Apartments for almost 10 years, property owner Dave Schmidt told CNN. His staff posted a statement for residents informing them of her death, as a member of the group.

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies did not mention how many members of the group were affected or injured in the incident.

Jane Kulich: Milwaukee native Jane Kulich, 52, was representing her employer, Citizens Bank, in the parade when she was struck and killed, according to her daughter Taylor Smith.

Kulich is survived by her three children and three grandchildren.