New Delhi: In an incident, a vehicle rammed into a Christmas parade in the US state of Wisconsin on Sunday evening leading to the death of 5 people, leaving 40 others wounded, reported AFP. Officials said a red SUV broke through barricades at the Christmas parade in Waukesha, a suburb of Milwaukee just after 4:30 pm (2230 GMT), as spectators watched the annual tradition.
"We can confirm that 5 people are deceased and 40 are injured. However, these numbers may change as we collect additional information," the Waukesha Police Department said in a statement on their official Facebook page.
The police have taken a "person of interest" in custody, and officers had recovered the involved vehicle. There were no other threats, officials at the press conference said.
"The vehicle struck more than 20 individuals, some of the individuals were children and there were some fatalities as a result of this incident," Thompson had said earlier.
However, he did not share details on the number of people killed and told that no further information would be divulged until families have been notified. Following this incident, a total of 11 adults and 12 children were taken to six area hospitals, fire chief Steven Howard told reporters.
At the time of the incident, an officer tried to fire at the SUV in an attempt to stop it, added the authorities. Schools will not resume on Monday and roads will remain closed, Thompson said as the investigation continues.