A person is in custody in the parade massacre Sunday in Waukesha, Wisconsin, police said.
Five people were killed and more than 40 people were injured Sunday when a vehicle was driven into the Christmas parade, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Waukesha Police Chief Daniel P. Thompson said “a person of interest” is in custody.
“This is still a very fluid investigation,” he said Sunday night.
On Sunday afternoon, a red Ford SUV was driven through multiple barricades and then struck people marching in the parade.
Karol Markowicz, a journalist who writes for Fox News, the New York Post, the Washington Examiner and the Spectator, reported the identity of the suspect late Sunday.
“Darrell E. Brooks, black male, late 30s is the suspect in custody in Waukesha,” she tweeted.
Darrell E. Brooks, black male, late 30s is the suspect in custody in Waukesha.
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) November 22, 2021
I can confirm, as I have his birthday, that this is the man in custody in Waukesha. https://t.co/5xlJEc34Rm
— Karol Markowicz (@karol) November 22, 2021
NBC News reported being told by “four senior law enforcement officials” that the person being held had a criminal history and might have been fleeing from a knife fight at the time of the tragedy.
Journalist Andy Ngo posted a police mug shot of a man he identified as Brooks from a previous arrest.
That would be this individual from a prior arrest. (He has a very long criminal record.) #Waukesha https://t.co/6uAcsV97zE pic.twitter.com/mc2JFfbVRP
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) November 22, 2021
The website Heavy, citing police radio traffic, said Brooks left an ID document in the SUV before fleeing the scene.
The site reported that based on its research, Darrell E. Brooks Jr. of 19th Street, Milwaukee, has a variety of charges from a Nov. 5 incident. The charges include two felonies — felony bail jumping and second degree recklessly endangering safety with domestic abuse assessments — and several misdemeanors — resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and battery, both with domestic abuse assessments.
He posted $1,000 cash bail on Nov. 19, the outlet reported.
Brooks also faces felony charges from 2020 of second-degree recklessly endangering safety with the use of a dangerous weapon and possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, according to Heavy.
He has other drug charges and other various felonies going back to 1999, the report said.
“Darrell Edward Brooks” appears on the Nevada Sex Offender Registry.
Heavy said Brooks also portrays himself as a rapper and has a smattering of anti-police comments on his social media pages.
