A number of people have been injured after a vehicle was driven at speed through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin, according to the city’s mayor. In one video posted on social media, a red SUV appeared to speed toward marchers in Waukesha at around 5pm on Sunday, and in a second video police appeared to open fire on the same vehicle as it crashed through street barriers.
Local media reports of the incident in Waukesha, which is about 20 miles (32 km) west of Milwaukee, said multiple people were injured. The Waukesha Police Department confirmed there was an active scene but did not provide details. Officials urged people to avoid the downtown area.
Mayor Shawn Reilly told WITI in Milwaukee that he does not believe there is any current danger to the public. Reports and social media posts also said that there was a heavy police and firefighter presence in the centre of the town in the wake of Sunday’s incident.
Angelito Tenorio, a local alderman who is running for Wisconsin state treasurer, said he had been at the parade with his family when he saw the red SUV approach the crowd. “We saw an SUV crossover, just put the pedal to the metal and just zooming full speed along the parade route, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We heard a loud bang, and just deafening cries and screams from people who are struck by the vehicle,” Tenorio said. “And then we saw people running away or stopping crying, and there, there are people on the ground who looked like they’d been hit by the vehicle.”
Photos and videos of Waukesha circulating on Twitter showed police cars and ambulances crowding a street decked out with Christmas lights in the aftermath of the incident.
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