SUV Hits Christmas Parade In Wisconsin USA, Several People Killed And Injured

Ilustrasi police line. (Unsplash / David von Diemar)

JAKARTA - Several people died when an SUV sped through a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Sunday, crashing into at least 20 people including a group of young dancers waving pompoms.

Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said a person with suspected links had been detained, while a suspected vehicle had been found following the incident in Waukesha, about 32 km west of Milwaukee.

"The vehicle hit more than 20 people. Some of them were children and there were several fatalities as a result of this incident," Thompson told reporters, citing Reuters on November 22.

Asked about the death toll, Thompson said: "I don't have an exact number at this time."

It was not known whether the incident was terrorism-related, but an earlier in-place protection order in the city of about 72.000 people had been lifted, he added.

A video posted online showed a red SUV plowing through the parade, appearing to ram into more than a dozen people before the crowd dashed off the pavement to offer help.

In another video, police can be seen opening fire at a vehicle that hit a road divider. Thompson said an officer opened fire on the vehicle and no one was hurt.

The testimony came from Belen Santamaria, who with her husband and three-year-old daughter planned to join the afternoon march with their Catholic Church. But Santamaria, a 39-year-old Mexican factory worker, woke up on Sunday with back pain, so the family watched the procession from the sidewalk instead.

"The SUV came at full speed. Then I started to hear people screaming," said Santamaria.

She hid in a restaurant with their daughter while her husband, 39-year-old delivery worker Jesus Ochoa, ran forward to try to help the injured. He said he heard through other members of their church, about 10 members, mostly Latinos and adults and children injured.

Meanwhile, a woman told Fox6 Milwaukee TV station that the SUV hit a dance team of girls aged between 9 and 15. He said his immediate reaction was silence, followed by screaming, running, and checking on those who were injured, Fox6 reports. Videos on social media showed small groups surrounding the injured girls in scattered white pompoms.

A witness said the driver also hit a group of grannies, with at least one overturned, according to WISN-TV Milwaukee, an ABC affiliate.

"Group members and volunteers are affected and we await news of their condition. Please keep Grandma, all those injured, and everyone who witnessed this horrific event in your thoughts and prayers," the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies wrote on their Facebook page.

A local CBS affiliate later showed pictures on Twitter of what appeared to be an engaged red SUV with its hood rumpled and front fender hanging off, parked in the driveway.

Other witnesses estimate the SUV was traveling at about 40 mph (64 kph) when it hit a crowd parading on the street, the TV station said.

"As we were walking back between the buildings, we saw an SUV go by, just stomping on the pedals to the metal and just cruising at full speed along the parade route. And then we heard loud explosions, deafening cries, and screams from the crowd got hit by a vehicle," Angelito Tenorio, a board member near West Allis, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Photos and videos of Waukesha circulating on Twitter show police cars and ambulances thronging a street dotted with Christmas lights after the incident, which occurred around 4:39 p.m. (2239 GMT). People gathered against the cold huddled on the pavement as dusk fell.

Some of the injured were taken to hospital by ambulance, others by police, and many more by family and friends, Thompson said.

Children's Wisconsin Hospital said on Twitter it had received 15 patients as of 8 p.m., with no deaths reported at that time.

As a result of this event, schools will remain closed Monday for grades 4K-12 and additional counselors will be available for students who may need support services, the district school superintendent said.

For your information, in 2015 four people were killed and 46 injured in Stillwater, Oklahoma when a woman rammed into a crowd of people watching the soccer team's homecoming parade.

Meanwhile, a truck accidentally drove into a Christmas market in Berlin, Germany in 2016, killing 12 people in an ISIS-linked attack.