Several people were killed and around 20 injured in the tragedy that occurred on Sunday evening, according to a provisional report.
According to several testimonies on the spot, a car would have driven at high speed Sunday, November 21 around 4:30 p.m. local on a Christmas parade organized in the small town of Waukesha, in Wisconsin (Midwest), about 20 miles west of Milwaukee. Shots were reportedly fired. Many emergency vehicles as well as the police were quickly mobilized on the spot. About twenty people were on the ground, probably injured.
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“A red SUV drove into our Christmas parade which was held in the city center. More than 20 people were injured as a result of this incident ”Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson told reporters. He said some of the injured – 11 adults and 12 children – were taken to hospital by ambulance, others by police and even more by family and friends. He later said that several had succumbed to their injuries, without specifying the number.
“Waukesha police have located a suspicious vehicle. An investigation is underway”Dan Thompson said, adding that authorities had identified a person of interest in connection with the investigation. It was not immediately clear whether this accident was terrorist in nature.
“There were a lot of families, a lot of children there. A red SUV raced down the street, knocking over many people in the paradeeyewitness at the scene told CNN Kaylee Staral. There was a lot of screaming. We thought it might have been Santa Claus, but it was a red SUV and it hit a lot of people. ”
A woman told Fox6 television that the red SUV struck a dance team made up of girls aged 9 to 15. She said the immediate reaction was silence, followed by screaming, running and checking for injuries, Fox6 reported.
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A spectator gave the following testimony to the local newspaper Tea MilWaukee Sentinel : “There were pom poms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate all over the place. I had to go from one disjointed body to another to find my daughter. My wife and two daughters were almost broke. 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 hugging me and her ears were bleeding. I hugged her mother as she passed out. Please pray … “
Police officers rushed into the street after the vehicle, asking the public to take refuge in nearby stores.