The Waukesha death toll rises to 6, and the suspect faces homicide charges

A child who was injured Sunday when an SUV plowed through a crowd at a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wis., has died, bringing the death toll from the attack to six.

Prosecutors in Wisconsin made the announcement on Tuesday as they outlined charges against the suspect in the attack, Darrell Brooks Jr.

Brooks, 39, was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He faces the possibility of an additional charge of first-degree intentional homicide for the child's death.

Bail for Brooks was set at $5 million cash. If convicted on all counts, Brooks faces five consecutive life sentences. Brooks did not enter a plea during Tuesday's court hearing.

"The nature of this offense is shocking," Court Commissioner Kevin Costello said at the hearing. "I've not seen anything like this in my very long career."

Brooks is accused of driving his maroon SUV through barricades and into a crowd of people, Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson said at a news conference Monday afternoon.

Charging documents filed against Brooks say that a total of 62 people were injured. Initially, authorities had said that 48 people were injured.

In a news conference Monday, authorities said Brooks acted alone in the attack, noting that he was involved in a "domestic disturbance" just prior to crashing his SUV into the parade.

While investigators say local police were not engaged in a chase of the suspect at the time of the incident, they noted that one officer did fire several times at Brooks' vehicle as he drove through the parade.

Authorities say there is no clear motive as to why Brooks drove through the crowd.

In 2020, Brooks was charged with recklessly endangering safety and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to documents from the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office provided to NPR.

The documents also indicate that Brooks previously used his vehicle to cause harm.

This month, Brooks confronted a woman outside a motel, knocking her phone out of her hand and driving off. According to the documents, Brooks then returned, punched her in the face and ran her over with his vehicle.

The report notes that the woman had tire marks on her pants in addition to other injuries from the incident.

Brooks was charged on Nov. 5 in that incident. His bail was set at $1,000. He posted bail on Nov. 11 and was released from police custody.

This is a developing story. Some facts reported by the media may later turn out to be wrong. We will focus on reports from police officials and other authorities, credible news outlets and reporters who are at the scene, and we will update as the situation develops.

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