Wisconsin parade news – latest: Two Illinois cities boost security ahead of 134th Christmas procession
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At least two cities in Illinois have amended Christmas parades and enhanced security plans following the tragedy in Waukesha, Wisconsin, last weekend, with authorities informing the public to “expect to see more police barriers and city vehicles”.
The parades, which include the Santa Claus procession in Peoria on Friday, are popular events and allegedly the longest running Christmas parade in the US, having occurred 133 times before.
In Galesburg, Illinois, a second Christmas parade will similarly take place next weekend with enhanced security, and assurances from authorities of public safety.
It follows a fundraiser for 39-year-old Darrell Brooks being removed by GoFundMe after the page violated its terms by asking for donations totalling $5m (£3.7m) to free the accused from bail.
Mr Brooks, who police believe wanted to strike “as many people as possible” when he raced his car through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, was described in the fundraiser as a “friend”.
A criminal complaint filed on Tuesday has meanwhile accused Mr Brooks of having “no emotion” when he drove down the parade route, killing six people and wounding at least 47 others.
He was said to have fled from police responding to a call about a domestic dispute between him and another person hours earlier, and prosecutors plan to charge him with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
He is being held on $5m bail.
Waukesha: What happened at the Wisconsin Christmas parade?
Wisconsin parade attack: Child becomes sixth person to die as Darrell Brooks faces fresh murder charge 
Darrell Brooks had a history of domestic violence we should have taken seriously
Wisconsin parade: Terrifying video shows SUV passing inches behind dancing little girl
More than $1.5m has been raised to support victims of the attack and their families. The six people killed are: Tamara Durand, Jane Kulich, Wilhelm Hospel, Leanna Owen, Virginia “Ginny” Sorenson, and Jackson Sparks.
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‘Dancing Grannies’ Facebook group devastated after the attack
Multiple members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies were among the five killed in the Waukesha Christmas parade attack.
The members were Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, and Tamara Durand, 52. Wilhelm Hospel, 81 was also closely associated with the group.
The dance group, in a Facebook post after the incident, said it is “devastated” and those who died were “extremely passionate Grannies”.
“The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies are devastated by this terrible tragedy with of loss of life and injuries in the Waukesha Christmas parade,” the group wrote.
“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. While performing the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds cheers and applause which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts,” it added.
“Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies. Their eyes gleamed.....joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue....held us together. Our hearts are heavy at this most difficult time, as more information and updates become available it will be posted.”
“Please keep them their families, friends, the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies and everyone who lives have forever changed in your thoughts and prayers.”
The Dancing Grannies describes itself on Facebook as a “group of grannies that meet once a week to practice routines for summer and winter parades.” They have been performing in parades since 1984.
Read more about the victims:
Waukesha Christmas parade: First pictures released of victims named by police
Five confirmed dead and many of the injured remain in hospital
Watch: Father reveals how he pushed daughter out of harm’s way at final moment
“I noticed him coming through the crowd and I noticed something was not right, and then I seen kind of like just people flying as I stood up,”, Mr Kluka Jr told TODAY. “I’m like ‘Oh no.’ My daughter stood up, I threw her out of the way, then I basically yelled, ‘Get out of the way,’ and my wife got out of the way”.
Watch the full video with Independent TV.
Crowd grows at candle light vigil in Waukesha
The number of people attending the candlelight vigil in Waukesha increased later on Monday night amid freezing temperatures.
Video footage of the late-night vigil showed mourners gathered to honour the dead after an SUV ploughed into the Christmas parade, killing at least five people and injuring 40 more.
Wisconsin parade-crash suspect was in a domestic disturbance, says police chief
The suspect who plowed his SUV into a Christmas parade in Waukesha was leaving the scene of a domestic dispute that had taken place just minutes earlier, the city police chief said on Monday.
The man identified as 39-year-old Darrell Brooks had a long history of criminal activities and has been charged with crimes 16 times since 1999.
However, police chief Dan Thompson earlier said there was no evidence the bloodshed on Sunday was a terrorist attack or that the suspect knew anyone in the parade.
He added that the suspect acted alone.
Brooks left the site of the domestic disturbance before officers arrived, and was not being chased by police at the time of the crash, according to the chief quoted by Associated Press, who gave no further details on the dispute.
Police said they were drawing up five charges of intentional homicide against Brooks.
On Sunday, the SUV that went on to kill people gathered for a joyous Christmas parade left 5 dead and over 40 injured. The victims were women aged between 52 to 79 and an 81-year-old man.
Additional reporting by AP
‘I stopped to help one boy – his legs were buckled under him ... and he was just shaking’: Grandmother recalls horror of Waukesha attack
The American flag was flying at half-mast on Monday in Waukesha, Wisconsin as shocked and crying locals waited at a favourite watering hole for a shuttle to take them to the vigil for victims mowed down a day earlier at the Milwaukee suburb’s annual Christmas parade.
The vigil was happening at a park about a half-mile away from The Destination, with mourners gathering nearer to the tragic scene where an SUV driver on Sunday killed five people and injured dozens more, including a group of “dancing grannies” and a high school band.
Tricia Tucker, 52, saw the whole disaster unfold; she lives in a condo building downtown in the Milwaukee suburb 25 minutes of the Wisconsin capital. The grandmother was attending the parade with her children, grandchildren, other friends and relatives on Sunday when the festive day turned to tragedy as a 39-year-old man with a long rap sheet allegedly plowed into the crowd.
Sheila Flynn has more:
Grandmother recalls horror of Waukesha Christmas parade attack
Tricia Tucker tells Sheila Flynn, in Waukesha, how she instinctively pulled children to safety – before desperately trying to find her own daughter
‘No evidence this is a terrorist incident’, says police Chief Daniel Thompson
There is no evidence that the attack was an act of terrorism, police have disclosed.
According to police Chief Daniel Thompson, the police “are confident he acted alone.”
Mr Thompson added: “There is no evidence this is a terrorist incident.”
The driver of the SUV which crashed through the Wisconsin parade, has been identified as Darrell Brooks, 39, of Milwaukee,
Brookes is due to make his first court appearance on Tuesday afternoon, with police recommending five charges of intentional homicide.
It is thought that additional charges could then be filed when more is known about those who were injured.
Brooks was out on bail at the time of the incident, according to court records and the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.
Waukesha parade attack: What we know about the victims, including three ‘Dancing Grannies’
The five people killed by the driver who rammed into a Christmas parade at Waukesha city in Wisconsin on Sunday have been identified by police.
The victims were aged between 52 and 81 and three of them were affiliated with a dancing group for older women called the “Milwaukee Dancing Grannies”, Waukesha police chief Daniel Thompson said on Monday.
Virginia “Ginny” Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71 and Tamara Durand, 52, were members of the dancing group, while 81-year-old Wilhelm Hospel, the fourth victim, was helping the group because his wife was a member.
What we know about the victims of the Waukesha parade attack
Tamara Durand, the youngest of the ‘Dancing Grannies’, was performing for the first time at the parade
President Biden offers condolences
Speaking from the White House on Monday, President Joe Biden offered his prayers for Waukesha and called the events a “horrific act of violence.”
He said:“While we don’t have all the facts and details yet, we know this morning that five families in Waukesha are facing fresh grief of a life without a loved one.
“At least 40 Americans are suffering from injuries, some of them in critical condition, and an entire community is struggling, struggling to cope with the horrific act of violence.”
Who are the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies?
The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies club lost four of their members when a red SUV crashed into Christmas parade marchers and spectators in Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Four out of the five people killed belonged to the group who were performing at the parade.
“Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade,” the group said in a statement Monday morning, according to the Associated Press. “Putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness.”
On Monday, police released the names of the members who were killed. They were Virginia Sorenson, 79, LeAnna Owen, 71, Tamara Durand, 52, and Wilhelm Hospel, 81.
Jane Kulich, 52, was also killed, although she was not a member of the club.
The Dancing Grannies perform in about 25 parades each year from Memorial Day to Christmas, according to its website. The group was originally formed in 1984.
The mayor of Milwaukee Tweeted his condolences
Mayor of Milwaukee, Tom Barrett, shared his condolences with Waukesha on Twitter.
He wrote: “Milwaukee shares its deepest condolences with our neighbors in Waukesha. Yesterday should have been a time of seasonal joy.
“Instead, we are all praying for the injured and mourning those who were killed.”