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.
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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Piles of discarded items wait to be claimed
ICYMI: Dozens of items left behind in the chaos of Waukesha’s Christmas parade are waiting to be claimed.
Piles of chairs, scarves, shoes and other belongings were collected from the scene and are now being held at the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department.
The Independent’s Sheila Flynn visited the collection site on Wednesday:
Kathleen N. Walsh: We should have taken Brooks’ history seriously
ICYMI: In the wake of Mr Brooks arrest over Sunday’s Christmas parade attack, a slew of information emerged about his lengthy criminal past.
A registered sex offender, Mr Brooks has a serious of previous charges for domestic violence, including for allegedly trying to run the mother of his child over with his car on 5 November.
The Independent’s Kathleen N. Walsh writes: “To me, that is not surprising. What is surprising — or at least galling — is that we still do not take violence against women seriously when the correlation between domestic abuse and other violent crime seems so clear. That means that ultimately, everybody else is less safe.
“If the allegations against Brooks — that he had already used a vehicle to attempt to seriously injure a woman he’d been formerly in a relationship with — were considered more seriously, then perhaps five families wouldn’t be mourning the deaths of their loved ones today.”
We should have taken Darrell Brooks’ history seriously | Kathleen N. Walsh
The man charged with driving his SUV into a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, killing six and injuring 62, had a specific criminal record
City officials add extra precautions to Thanksgiving parades
ICYMI: Authorities in cities across the US are taking extra measures to ensure the safety of crowds at the city’s Thanksgiving Day parade in light of the events in Waukesha.
Detroit, Michigan; Waco, Texas; and Knoxville, Tennessee, are among the cities reviewing their safety plans, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Meanwhile, several towns across Wisconsin have cancelled upcoming holiday parades in the wake of Waukesha’s deadly attack.
Dawn Woods, the mother of Darrell Brooks, regrets bailing him out of jail
Dawn Woods, the mother of Darrell Brooks, is regretting bailing him out of jail just a few days prior to the incident. Mr Brooks’ mother had posted a $1,000 bond for her son after he was accused of domestic violence and intentionally striking his former girlfriend with his car on 2 November.
“She’s wrecked that people were killed as a result and she’s like, ‘I’m blaming myself, because had I not bailed him out, this wouldn’t have happened’,” the former girlfriend, who shares a child with Mr Brooks, told The Post.
The woman said she had very little contact with the accused in the last 20 years. “He disappeared when my son was almost 3 months old. I’ve done all of this on my own, raised my child by myself,” she said.
She added their son has not interacted with his father since he was a baby.
“When I saw his picture online, I was like, ‘What the f***? I was embarrassed enough to have him as the father of my child beforehand, because he wasn’t taking care of him. What do you think I am now? Mortified,” the woman added.
Three injured children go home from hospital as 10 remain under care of doctors
ICYMI: Three children injured in the Wisconsin Christmas parade attack will be at home for Thanksgiving after being released from hospital.
That leaves 10 children still in hospital care, with five in critical condition, two in fair condition and three in good condition, according to to Children’s Wisconsin hospital.
“We are thankful to share that three more kids injured on Sunday at the Waukesha parade will be home for Thanksgiving, where they will continue their recovery,” hospital officials said on twitter.
Rockford beefs up security, shuts down roads for parade
In the wake of the deadly incident, officials in Rockford are beefing up their security for the Stroll on State parade, which will be held this Saturday.
There will be more barricades placed at the perimeter of the event to keep any unauthorized vehicles from getting onto the parade route and festival grounds.
Authorities in Rockford will shut down Chestnut Street west of the Rock River and Walnut Street east of the river for vehicular traffic from 10.30 am until 9 pm on Saturday. An emergency lane will be created by security barricades between Church and North Second streets.
Brooks had previously run over a woman at start of November
Darrell Brooks, the man accused of driving his SUV into a Wisconsin Christmas parade was a registered sex offender in Nevada.
As well as this, he had an active arrest warrant in that state, according to court records.
Court documents revealed that he allegedly ran over a woman who said that she is the mother of his child, earlier this month.
On 2nd November, Brookes is said to have run over the woman in his car whilst she was walking through the car park of a gas station.
The woman told authorities that she was the mother of his child, according to a criminal complaint.
Brooks bail fundraiser removed from GoFundMe
The crowdfunding platform, GoFundMe, has removed a fundraiser which was created for Darrell Brooks in an effort to raise the $5 million required for his bail.
The fundraiser was removed from the platform because it violated the GoFundMe terms of service, FOX Business reported.
According to FOX Business a spokesperson for GoFundMe said: "Fundraisers with misuse are very rare, and we take all complaints very seriously. Our team works with law enforcement to report issues and assists them in any investigations they deem necessary.”
Darrell Brooks had a history of domestic violence we should have taken seriously
Darrell Brooks — the man charged with driving his Ford SUV into a Christmas parade in Wisconsin with no clear motivation and killed six people — had a documented history of domestic violence.
He was a registered sex offender and, according to court documents, was out on bond for charges related to domestic abuse when the Waukesha tragedy happened.
He allegedly ran over a woman who says she is the mother of his child with his car.
Writes Kathleen N. Walsh:
We should have taken Darrell Brooks’ history seriously | Kathleen N. Walsh
The man charged with driving his SUV into a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, killing six and injuring 62, had a specific criminal record
People gather at Waukesha memorial to remember victims
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