What You Should Know About Darrel Brooks, The Christmas Parade Plower

The suspect accused of plowing into a Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin and killing five on Sunday shared social media posts promoting violence towards white people.

Today, eight-year-old Jackson Sparks was named by relatives as the sixth victim, having died in hospital from his injuries.

A now-deleted Facebook account belonging to Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, showed the alleged killer had encouraged knocking ‘white ppl [the f**k] out’ and also appeared to support the controversial Black Hebrew Israelites.

Brooks was charged on Tuesday with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide and is expected to face more charges. 

Police are yet to determine the motive behind the deadly rampage, however, records reveal Brooks is a career criminal with a rap sheet dating back to 1999 and had been bailed twice this year. 

Facebook posts also show the amateur rapper, who went by his stage name, MathBoi Fly, had shared a series of links and memes relating to race and white privilege in June 2020, when protests erupted over the death of George Floyd. 

Five of the six victims – all white – who died on Sunday were aged 52 to 82 and part of a Waukesha club known as the Dancing Grannies. 

In a post from June 9, 2020, Brooks wrote: ‘LEARNED ND TAUGHT BEHAVIOR!! so when we start bakk knokkin white people TF out ion wanna hear it…the old white ppl 2, KNOKK DEM TF OUT!! PERIOD..’ followed by a middle finger and expletive emoji.  

Darrell Brooks, Jr. was charged with five counts of first-degree intentional homicide on Tuesday

Brooks shared a series of links and memes relating to race and white privilege in June 2020, when protests erupted over the death of George Floyd

He also shared an article from ESPN that same day about NBA player Kyle Kuzma breaking down ‘his belief of what white privilege’, to which Brooks commented: ‘interesting’.  

Brooks had also shared a post about a white cop being ‘violent towards peaceful protestors’, six days earlier.

The posts are among several that have emerged in the wake of his arrest after  he allegedly drove his red Ford SUV in a crowd of kids and elderly dancing groups during a Christmas parade in the Milwaukee suburb.  

Brooks’s troubling track record has raised questions about his alleged motives for the killings and why he had been allowed on the streets.

Among the brow-raising social media posts that surfaced on Tuesday was a meme about Adolf Hitler and the identity of the ‘real Jews’.

The graphic – posted on November 2015 – claimed negros are ‘the true Hebrews’ and that America had moved ‘false white Jews into a state of Israel’.

The post seemed to promote the views of the Black Hebrew Israelites who believe African Americans are literal descendants of the Israelites in the Bible. 

Brooks had shared the meme with a caption ‘#research’ and commented: ‘real game rite here’.  

Brooks made his initial appearance in court Tuesday. He could be heard crying during the proceeding, leaning over with his head nearly in his lap, with his attorney resting a hand on his back.  

Among the brow-raising social media posts that surfaced on Tuesday is a meme about Adolf Hitler and the identity of the ‘real Jews’

Darrell Brooks – accused of mowing down scores of parade goers in Waukesha on Sunday and killing five people – is seen in a new booking photograph taken on November 22 after being was charged with five counts of murder

He was charged with five counts of intentional homicide. Conviction on first-degree intentional homicide carries a mandatory life sentence, Wisconsin’s stiffest penalty.

Prosecutors also confirmed a sixth person, a child, has died and more charges are pending. 

Jackson Sparks was walking in the parade along with his brother, who is still hospitalized. The other five people who were killed were adults.

‘This afternoon, our dear Jackson has sadly succumbed to his injuries and passed away,’ the page´s organizer, Alyssa Albro, wrote.

Earlier on Tuesday video emerged showing Brooks hammering on a stranger’s door claiming he waiting for an Uber – just 20 minutes after the attack. 

He is also seen being surrounded by police officers who shout at him to put his hands up as he stands on the stranger’s front porch.

Brooks has since been charged with five counts of murder for the lives he took at the Waukesha Christmas parade in Wisconsin on Sunday night.

Doorbell camera video obtained by NBC News shows Brooks, wearing a red T-shirt, knocking on the door of resident Daniel Rider’s home, located around half a mile from the Waukesha Christmas parade. 

A timestamp from the video shows he knocked on the door at one minute past 5 pm local time, which is roughly 20 minutes after Brooks allegedly drove his red SUV through safety barriers and into the crowds, killing five and injuring 48 others. 

The victims have been identified as Dancing Grannies Virginia Sorenson, 79, Leanna Owens, 71 and Tamara Durand, 52, Citizen Bank employee Jane Kulich, 52, and 82-year-old Wilhelm Hospel, the husband of one of the grannies. Waukesha suspect caught by police waiting for strangers porch.

Brooks, who knocked on the door of resident Daniel Rider’s home, located around half a mile from the Waukesha Christmas parade, can be seen shivering and standing on the porch before Rider opens his front door to him

Video footage also shows Darrell Brooks Jr, 39, being surrounded by police officers who shout at him to put his hands up as he stood on the stranger’s front porch

Darrell Brooks Jr has been charged with five counts of murder after he allegedly ploughed his SUV into a Christmas parade

Police said Brooks was leaving a domestic dispute in his SUV when he plowed into the festive crowds.

And one neighbour claims his ex-girlfriend was seen ‘running away with no shoes and a black eye’, moments before the carnage.

The Waukesha resident, named only as Ebony, lives across the street from Brooks and told The Sun the suspect had regular fights with his partner which she tried to break up and threatened to call the cops.

The video comes as Milwaukee’s District Attorney faces furious questions about why alleged Brooks was out on the streets at the time of the attack after it emerged he’s been bailed twice this year despite a lengthy criminal history stretching back to 1999.

John Chisholm released a statement Monday admitting Brooks, 39, should not have been released on a $1,000 bond earlier this month following an alleged hit-and-run incident involving his girlfriend.  

On Sunday, Brooks was fleeing the scene of a domestic dispute when he crashed into the crowds after smashing through safety barriers and breezing past cops.

Just 20 minutes later, Brooks is captured by the doorbell camera, shivering and standing on the porch before Rider opens his front door to him.

‘I called an Uber and I’m supposed to be waiting for it over here, but I don’t know when it’s coming,’ Brooks can be heard telling Rider. ‘Can you call it for me please? I’m homeless.’    

Rider later told NBC News he did not know that the Christmas parade attack had happened at the time as he was in the middle of watching football after coming back from a hunting trip.

Rider said he had invited Brooks into his home and given him a jacket, made him a sandwich and let him use his phone. 

‘All of a sudden, I look outside my street and I see a few cop cars drive by and I’m getting extra nervous,’ he said, before asking Brooks to leave – which he did.

Rider said his neighbor then called the police, and shortly afterwards Brooks began ‘pounding’ on Rider’s front door for a second time, claiming he had left his ID inside. 

‘Then the next thing you know, you see the cops with lights on him saying, ‘Hands in the air, hands in the air.’ 

The video footage shows Brooks pacing around on Rider’s front porch before police officers can be seen arriving at the house with bright flash lights and ordering Brooks to put his hands in the air.

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa,’ Brooks says as he put his hands in the air. 

Darrell Brooks can be seen waiting after he knocked on the door of Rider’s home

It is not clear from the video whether the police arrested Brooks at the house. 

A police officer later knocked on Rider’s door and asked, ‘Do you know this guy?’ to which Rider responded: ‘Absolutely not.’

Brooks was taken into custody in Waukesha on Sunday night after police found his red Ford SUV parked neatly in a driveway five blocks from where he drove through crowds of kids and elderly dancing groups.   

On Sunday, he was fleeing the scene of a domestic dispute when he crashed into the crowds after smashing through safety barriers and breezing past cops. One officer tried to stop him by shooting at his car but he stopped because there  were too many people around for him to safely fire his weapon.

Police had just arrived at the home that Brooks had fled when he plowed into the parade crowds, killing five adults. 

The victims have been identified as Dancing Grannies Virginia Sorenson, 79, Leanna Owens, 71 and Tamara Durand, 52, Citizen Bank employee Jane Kulich, 52, and 82-year-old Wilhelm Hospel, the husband of one of the grannies. 

The Waukesha Police Department have now arrested Brooks on five murder charges. 

Terrifying video posted to social media shows a speeding red SUV collide into a group of people marching in the middle of the street during the annual holiday parade in Waukesha, some 20 miles west of downtown Milwauke

Tamara Durand (left), 52, and Leana ‘Lee’ Owen (right), 71, were two members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies who died in Sunday’s tragedy.

Virginia Sorenson (left), 79, was a nurse and member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a group of elderly woman marching in the parade. Wilhelm Hospel (right), 82, the husband of one of the grannies, died from internal bleeding, according to his older brother

The Christmas parade began on Sunday at 4pm, with participants starting at Main St. and Whiterock Ave. It was always intended to be a short parade, ending half a mile away at the northeast corner of Cutler Park. At 4.39pm, the red SUV is filmed speeding down Main Street. It smashed into the crowd, and sent bodies flying, before carrying on down towards the end of the parade, where the car broke through barriers. The SUV was found less than five blocks away and the driver was taken into custody but it’s unclear exactly where

The amateur rapper has a long criminal history dating back to 1999 with more than 15 arrests in the state of Wisconsin alone for charges including possession of drugs, strangulation and suffocation, battery, illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon and resisting arrest.  

On November 2, he was arrested on domestic violence charges after trying to ‘run over’ his ex, the mother of his child, at a gas station. His bond was set at $1,000 and he posted it on November 11th.

Earlier on Monday, the shamefaced Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office admitted it was ‘inappropriate’ for Brooks to be allowed out of jail on a $1,000 bond three weeks ago after trying to run over his ex-girlfriend, as he was charged with five counts of murder for the lives he took at the Waukesha Christmas Parade on Sunday night. 

The Milwaukee County DA’s Office released a statement admitting the $1,000 bail was ‘inappropriately low’ given his criminal history. They said they’d launched an internal review as to why he was able to get out on bond to commit more crimes. 

It has also emerged that Brooks, an amateur rapper who is also known by his stage name MathBoi Fly, is a convicted sex offender. 

In 2006, he was convicted in a Nevada court for statutory rape after he had sex with a 15-year-old girl. Brooks was 24 years old at the time of his conviction.

The girl ended up pregnant and gave birth to Brooks’ child. The legal age of consent in Nevada is 16.

The amateur rapper’s lyrics also include ‘f*** the pigs’ and ‘f*** Donald Trump.’      

Another song, posted on SoundCloud, has the lyrics: ‘They gonna need a cleaner for the s*** we did, all my killers Gacey where them bodies hid.’

The lyrics of another song read: Sliding through the city with no safety on.’

His rap songs also make mention of AK-47 assault rifles and killing people. Darrell Brooks Jr, 39, the suspected driver of the car that mowed down scores of parade goers in Waukesha on Sunday, killing five people, is an amateur rapper whose lyrics include ‘f*** the pigs’ and ‘f*** Donald Trump’

Brooks, who is also known by his stage name, MathBoi Fly, posted songs on SoundCloud with explicit lyric Milwaukee County Attorney John T Chisholm previously spoke of trying to reduce his county’s prison population. He even let a progressive criminal justice nonprofit called Vera perform an ‘audit’ on his office. 

Vera, which is based in New York, opposes cash bail, with the implementation of that measure partially-blamed for a crime spike in NYC. Milwaukee saw murders spike by 95 per cent between 2019 and 2020, with 2021 currently recording as many homicides as there were by the same stage of 2020.  

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said: ‘This is not a terrorist event.’ Fire Chief Steve Howard said the scene was ‘like a warzone’. 

‘It was just, for lack of a better word, carnage. There were adults, children injured. 

‘Some of our first responders were there with their families and they left their families to help treat people. People with military backgrounds likened it to a war zone.’ 

Between July 2020 and February 2021, Brooks was in custody awaiting a trial date on a $7,500 bond for shooting at his nephew after a fight over his old cell phone.

The bond was dropped to $500 in February because the courts couldn’t give him a trial quickly enough. 

The shamefaced Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office admitted on Monday it was ‘inappropriate’ for convicted felon Darrell Brooks to be allowed out of jail on a $1,000 bond three weeks ago after trying to run over his ex-girlfriend, as he was charged with five counts of murder for the lives he took at the Waukesha Christmas Parade on Sunday night

Brooks’ November 2 criminal complaint reveals he was accused of hunting down the mother of his child, a woman referred to in charging documents as EAP, and running her over while she was walking through a gas station after an argument He was arrested again on November 2 in Milwaukee for  hunting down the mother of one of his children at a hotel, then following her in the street with his SUV and running her over in the parking lot of a gas station after she refused to get in his car.

DailyMail.com obtained copies of his arrest warrant for that incident on Monday which reveal he followed her to a gas station, punched her ‘with a closed fist’ and then ‘ran her over.’ 

He was arrested and charged with five counts including bail jumping, for having failed to meet the terms of one of his many other sets of bail or probation requirements. 

But on November 11, he posted a $1,000 cash bond. By November 19, he was on the streets again and by November 21, behind the wheel of his Ford again. 

After Sunday night’s massacre, Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office issued a statement conceding the bail that was set was ‘inappropriately low.’ 

Fire Chief Steve Howard said the scene at the parade was like a ‘warzone’. ‘For lack of a better word, it was carnage’

Brooks is shown in this still taken from a video of the incident on Sunday. His motive remains unclear but the incident happened two days after he got out of jail on battery charges 

Brooks is an amateur rapper who is shown above in a YouTube video standing in front of his red Ford truck. He has a long criminal history going back to 1999 with charges including weapons offenses, domestic battery, resisting arrest, drugs charges and concealed carry charges 

The amateur rapper is shown in a 2019 music video filmed at the back of his house where he and others in the video pose with weapons and money 

‘The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail. 

‘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 said. 

Brooks is also listed as a sex offender in Nevada, where he was charged with having sex with a minor. 

A social media video of him taken before Sunday’s incident shows him trying to explain that the victim was the mother of his oldest daughter who he ‘didn’t know was 16’ when they had sex. 

Police sources told The Washington Post that Brooks he was fleeing the scene of a knife attack on Sunday when he smashed into the crowds at 4.39pm at the Waukesha parade. 

The judge overseeing the case was Michelle Havas (left). Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm (right) is an enthusiastic bail reform advocate who previously suggested the state should replicate San Francisco’s bail reform to do away with cash bond on minor crimesMoment SUV plows through crowd during parade in Waukesha

The incident comes just two days after Kyle Rittenhouse, the accused Kenosha shooter, was acquitted of murder charges in the deaths of two men during the unrest that erupted last year in the wake of a police shooting of a black man. Kenosha is located about 55 miles south of Waukesha. There is no indication yet that the two are connected 

The SUV was found around five blocks from where the parade carnage took place, parked in a driveway. It’s unclear whose home it was or if he was found inside, but he was taken into custody nearby 

Brooks’ lengthy rap sheet includes felonies for bail jumping, battery, drugs offenses, weapons offenses and domestic abuse but he has never spent a significant amount of time in prison 

Pictured, the suspect’s home in Milwaukee. A man who came to the door said he could not speak to DailyMail.com. ‘If you’re trying to get some information I can’t talk to you. I know what this is related to but we’re not going to talk to you,’ he said

One witness, a father whose daughter was in a dance troupe that was struck, said he made eye contact with him and that he was ‘calm and composed.’  

Brooks lives some 20 miles away in Milwaukee in a suburban home where he films rap videos in the street.  On Monday, a man who answered the door refused to comment on the mounting deaths from Sunday’s incident.

‘If you’re trying to get some information I can’t talk to you. I know what this is related to but we’re not going to talk to you,’ he told DailyMail.com.   

‘Most people on this street have lived here 40 or 50 years. But we’re dying off now,’ one neighbor told DailyMail.com

‘Young punks are moving in here, anyone with a bit of money. But they don’t want to know us and we don’t want to know them. I’ve had no dealings with them at all, but I have seen that red SUV parked outside,’ he added.

His motive for Sunday’s attack remains unclear; police will not confirm whether it was a deliberate act of terror or if Brooks accidentally ran into the crowds after losing control of his car while fleeing a knife crime. 

Social media profiles reveal Brooks was an amateur rapper who went by the name MathBoi Fly, and claimed to have ‘turned to the streets at a very young age’ while growing up in a ‘dangerous West Side neighborhood of Washington Park’. 

He described himself as ‘the best underground artist in his city’. Those social media profiles have now been taken down. 

On Saturday, he posted that he was ‘not surprised’ by the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict but authorities have not yet indicated whether the teen’s acquittal has anything to do with the incident on Sunday. 

Brooks has a lengthy criminal history stretching back to the 1990s when he was convicted of battery. At the time of the car rampage, he had two open felony cases against him – one from July 2020 and another from November this year.

Waukesha Police Chief Daniel Thompson said no motive has yet been established, but officers are not discounting terrorism. 

Officers are also looking into the possibility that he was fleeing a domestic incident involving a knife when he reached the parade, NBC said. 

Four of the five people who were killed when a red SUV sped into a crowd of participants in the annual Christmas parade in Waukesha were members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. 

Waukesha police identified the fatal victims as Dancing Grannies Virginia ‘Ginny’ Sorenson, 79; Leana ‘Lee’ Owen, 71; and Tamara Durand, 52; and 82-year-old Wilhelm Hospel, the husband of one of the Grannies. 

Citizen Bank employee Jane Kulich, 52, was also identified as one of the fatalities. She was representing Citizens Bank in the parade procession when she was stuck and killed, according to her daughter.

Durand last Facebook post which she made just hours before the deadly events of Sunday night show her smiling and holding her pompoms while dressed in a winter coat and hat.

‘HERE WE GO!’ Durand wrote, adding a few Santa Claus emojis. ‘First Milwaukee Dancing Grannies parade! So excited!’ 

It was also the first time Durand performed with the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies.  

Tamara Durand (left), 52, and Leana ‘Lee’ Owen (right), 71, were two members of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies who died in Sunday’s tragedy.

Virginia Sorenson (left), 79, was a nurse and member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a group of elderly woman marching in the parade. Wilhelm Hospel (right), 82, the husband of one of the grannies, died from internal bleeding, according to his older brother

Jane Kulich was a Citizen Bank employee who was walking with a parade float before she was fatally struck

A GoFundMe set up by family to raise funeral costs described Jane ( right) as a ‘loving, beautiful and charismatic mother, grandmother and friend to so many. ‘The world is a much darker place without a woman like this in the world,’ continued the description. Almost $600 have been raised out of the $2,000 goal

The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a marching, dancing holiday fixture in Wisconsin for nearly 40 years was hit by tragedy as they marched on Sunday

An Interfaith candle lit vigil was held at Cutler Park in Waukesha, Wisconsin on Monday

Hundreds of people were on hand at Waukesha’s Cutler Park for Monday evening’s candlelight vigil  Members of the Waukesha community came out to a candlelight vigil in Cutler Park on Monday

‘She was super energetic, she was that type of person who when she walks in the room, everybody notices her smile,’ her husband, Dave, told The Daily Beast on Monday. 

‘She literally danced her way through life. She was the youngest one in the Dancing Grannies. Dancing was her favorite thing. It was her first time even with them, which is what’s so tragic, too.’

Tamara was a hospice and critical care chaplain at Waukesha Memorial. In 2009, she saved a homeless man from drowning in the Wisconsin River. Tamara Durand and Leana Owen were also with the Dancing Grannies, while Wilhelm Hospel was the husband of one of the members. 

Jane Kulich was a Citizen Bank employee who was walking with a parade float before she was fatally struck. 

A GoFundMe set up by family to raise funeral costs described her as a ‘loving, beautiful and charismatic mother, grandmother and friend to so many.

‘The world is a much darker place without a woman like this in the world,’ continued the description. Almost $600 have been raised out of the $2,000 goal.   

Hospel was helping the group at the parade because his wife is one of its members, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

Hospel’s brother, Theodore, told the New York Post that he was on a golf course in Florida when he heard that his younger brother was among those struck by the out-of-control SUV driver.

Wilhelm, who was the youngest of five brothers, died after suffering from internal bleeding and injuries to his pelvis, according to Theodore.

‘I was talking to him this summer, and he said, ‘Who do you think is going to be the first one to go,’ you know,’ Theodore said.

‘And lo and behold, the youngest one goes first.’  

Theodore told the Post that he would frequently visit his younger brother and his wife, Lola, in Wisconsin. He said Wilhelm was ‘always repairing things’ in a rental property that he owned. 

‘His job was never done, but he was so healthy,’ Theodore said.

‘He was not on any major medication. He was a strong person and even would help me out a lot of times because he was so strong. I cannot believe it.

‘It’s so tragic.’

Wilhelm Hospel is seen right with his wife, Lola, in the above file photo

Gabrielle Kamentz (left), a nursing student and clinical research assistant at Oshkosh College, posted a tribute to her late grandmother Virginia Sorenson (right), 79, killed in the Waukesha tragedy on Sunday 

Virginia still worked part-time in medical records and despite her bad knee and hip was an active member of the grannies

‘What did she like about it? Everything,’ Virginia’s husband of 56 years, Dave, said. ‘She liked the instructing. She liked the dancing and the camaraderie of the women. She liked to perform’

Sorenson was a former registered nurse and mother of three children. She is also survived by six grandchildren.

According to the Journal Sentinel, Sorenson helped with the group’s choreographer and was a mentor to some of the newer members of the Dancing Gannies. She kept up her activities with the group despite nursing a bad back and hip.

‘She liked the instructing,’ her husband David told the newspaper.

‘She liked the dancing and the camaraderie of the women. She liked to perform.’ 

Sorenson was planning to take part in the parade from inside a van. But at the last minute, she decided she was going to help carry the banner at the rear of the group during the procession, according to her husband.

When she wasn’t dancing with the Grannies, Owen worked as a manager at Packard Glen Apartments for nearly 10 years, according to CNN. 

Dave Schmidt, the property owner, told CNN that his staff posted a statement for residents informing them of her death.

‘This was one of her passions that she truly loved,’ the statement said. ‘She was so proud to be part of this group and lit up when she talked about it.’ 

The Dancing Grannies posted a statement on its Facebook page saying it was ‘devastated’ by the tragedy.

‘Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness,’ the group wrote.

‘While performing the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds, cheers, and applause which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts.

‘Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies. Their eyes gleamed…..joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue….held us together.’

Dancing Granny Betty Butula Streng, who had just joined the group, was also badly injured.

The degree of Betty’s injuries is unknown but she’s now in ICU, according to members of the community

The Grannies wrote: ‘Our hearts are heavy at this most difficult time, as more information and updates become available it will be posted.

‘Please keep them their families, friends, the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, and everyone whose lives have forever changed in your thoughts and prayers.’ 

Two children are in critical condition, 18 minors remain in the hospital and 48 are injured in total, but police say the number may rise. 

Gabrielle Kamentz, a nursing student and clinical research assistant at Oshkosh College, posted a tribute to her late grandmother Virginia on Monday. 

Mourners paid their respects to the five people who died and the dozens of others who were injured in Sunday’s horrific incident

Mourners attend a candlelight vigil in Cutler Park in Waukesha on Monday – a day after Sunday’s carnage at the annual Christmas parade

‘She had such a good heart. Such a good soul. She was the glue that held the family together. I’m still in shock and trying to process this as I write. As I continue through nursing school, I will live that legacy to her,’ Gabrielle wrote. ‘My grandmother was an incredible nurse. I’m so proud to be following in her footsteps.’  

Jane Kulich’s  daughter, Taylor Smith, also took to social media to post a tribute to her mother. 

‘There’s no words. It’s so unreal. My mom was killed last night. We are told she didn’t suffer. Thank God. I’m so grateful I got to have her this long, but da**,’ Taylor wrote. ‘She was walking in the parade last night. She was so happy. I love you mom. Rest in peace my beautiful angel.’

Virginia was a nurse and member of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, a group of elderly women marching in the parade, for almost two decades.  

She had been married to her husband, Dave, for 56 years and had two adult children and six grandchildren. Virginia worked part-time in medical records.

‘What did she like about it? Everything,’ her husband told the Milwaukee Journal. ‘She liked the instructing. She liked the dancing and the camaraderie of the women. She liked to perform.’

He said Virginia was helping dancers from the parking lot to the start of the route on Sunday.

‘[She] was going to ride in the van behind the woman and be an instructor. They were short help so she offered to hold the banner going down the street. so she did that. I was at the end in the car. I was sitting in the car waiting,’ he added. 

‘The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies are devastated by this terrible tragedy with of loss of life and injuries in the Waukesha Christmas parade,’ the Dancing Grannies wrote on Facebook. This picture was posted after the incident on SundaySUV plows into Dancing Grannies group in Waukesha Christmas parade ‘Those who died were extremely passionate Grannies. Their eyes gleamed…..joy of being a Grannie. They were the glue….held us together,’ the group posted on Facebook. 

Dave told the outlet that despite her bad hip and knee, Virginia loved to make new members of the grannies feel welcomed. 

In a Facebook comment, Virginia encouraged newcomer granny Betty Butula Streng writing ‘Our future Milwaukee Dancing Granny…great picture, she has the moves and the smile.’  

Betty, who had just joined the group, was also badly injured. The degree of her injuries is unknown but she’s now in ICU, according to members of the community. 

‘Dear friends, please hold in prayer Betty. This parade in Waukesha was the first gig for her as a part of the Dancing Grannies. She is currently in ICU. Please lift her and all others impacted by this tragedy in prayer. Lord, in your mercy…’ Betty’s friend, Kris Ertl posted on Facebook.  

A suspect identified as 39-year-old Darrell Brooks was taken into custody for reportedly plowing his red SUV through crowds at parade. Police said they found his red Ford SUV parked neatly in a driveway five blocks from where he drove through crowds of kids and elderly dancing groups.  

Police said Brooks was fleeing domestic dispute, and the attack was not fueled by terrorism sentiments.   

Five victims were transported to Waukesha Memorial and one of them died. Twelve others were treated by first responders at the scene. 

More than one of the fatal victims were part of the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies. 

‘The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies are devastated by this terrible tragedy with of loss of life and injuries in the Waukesha Christmas parade,’ the Dancing Grannies posted on Facebook.     

Footage shared online shows some of the dancing grannies just seconds before Brooks plowed through the crowd, as horrified pedestrians try to get out of the way. 

The grannies voiced their heartbreak after the tragedy.  

The Facebook statement read: ‘Our group was doing what they loved, performing in front of crowds in a parade putting smiles on faces of all ages, filling them with joy and happiness. While performing the grannies enjoyed hearing the crowds cheers and applause which certainly brought smiles to their faces and warmed their hearts.’ 

‘Our hearts are heavy at this most difficult time, as more information and updates become available it will be posted . Please keep them their families, friends, the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies and everyone who lives have forever changed in your thoughts and prayers,’ it concluded. 

Among the injured are Romelia Perez and her 11-year-old daughter Camila, her husband, Rigoberto, 47, told the New York Post. 

He said he had stayed home on Sunday while his wife and daughter went to enjoy the Waukesha parade, hours later he received the call. 

‘I don’t understand,’ Perez told the outlet. ‘I was eating with my wife and daughter yesterday. Now they’re sleeping in the hospital. It’s hard.’ 

Camila has a broken femur and underwent emergency surgery, while his wife reportedly has many broken bones. 

According to her father, Camila has not said anything since the horrific attack.

Footage shared online shows some of the dancing grannies just seconds before Brooks plowed through the crowd, as horrified pedestrians try to get out of the way.

Darrell Brooks Jr, 39, from Milwaukee, was detained shortly after a red SUV ploughed into the annual Christmas parade in the town of Waukesha, leaving at least five people dead and 40 injured – including at least 12 children on Sunday night. He is shown in a November 3 mugshot, when he was arrested for battery and domestic abuse 

The Christmas parade began on Sunday at 4pm, with participants starting at Main St. and Whiterock Ave. It was always intended to be a short parade, ending half a mile away at the northeast corner of Cutler Park. At 4.39pm, the red SUV is filmed speeding down Main Street. It smashed into the crowd, and sent bodies flying, before carrying on down towards the end of the parade, where the car broke through barriers. The SUV was found less than five blocks away and the driver was taken into custody but it’s unclear exactly where 

The amateur rapper has a long criminal history dating back to 1999 with more than 15 arrests in the state of Wisconsin alone for charges including possession of drugs, strangulation and suffocation, battery, illegally possessing firearms as a convicted felon and resisting arrest.

On Sunday he was fleeing the scene of a domestic dispute when he crashed into the crowds.

Police had just arrived at the home that he had fled when he plowed into the parade crowds, killing five adults. The victims have been identified as four women and one man, aged 52 to 81.

The Waukesha Police Department have now arrested Brooks on five murder charges.

At a press conference on Monday afternoon, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said: ‘This is not a terrorist event.’ 

Original Article: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10235869/Waukesha-suspect-shared-social-media-posts-promoting-violence-white-people.html