Police: Darrell Brooks Jr. ‘Intentionally' Drove into Crowd, Was Not Being Chased by Officers

The suspect charged with five counts of homicide in Sunday’s Waukesha Christmas parade massacre was not being chased by police and “intentionally” drove into the crowd, Waukesha authorities said.

During a press conference on Monday, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson confirmed that the suspect, Darrell Brooks Jr., was fleeing a domestic disturbance before he drove his maroon SUV into a crowd, killing five people and injuring 48, including two children who are in critical condition.

“We have information that the suspect prior to the incident was involved in a domestic disturbance which was just minutes prior, and the suspect left that scene just prior to our arrival to that domestic disturbance,” Thompson said.

Thompson said Brooks was taken into custody “a short distance from the scene” and that they are “confident he acted alone.”

“There is no evidence that this is a terrorist incident,” he added.

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Brooks has been charged three times in less than two years with recklessly endangering the safety of others, “most recently on Nov. 5 as part of a domestic abuse incident for which he was also charged with resisting or obstructing an officer.”

The report continues:

In the case this month, a woman told police Brooks purposefully ran her “over with his vehicle” while she was walking through a gas station parking lot after he had followed her there after a fight, according to the criminal complaint. The woman was hospitalized for her injuries, court records show.

Brooks posted $1,000 bond on Nov. 11 in the most recent incident and was released from Milwaukee County Jail on Nov. 16, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office. He also was charged in July 2020 with two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering the safety of others using a dangerous weapon.

On Monday, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, headed up by District Attorney John Chisholm, said the $1,000 bail was “inappropriately low” based on the severity of the charges.

“This office is currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bail recommendation in this matter in order to determine the appropriate next steps,” the statement read.