I just can't get over the Waukesha parade massacre

[vlyons]

My god, this was a community family event. Not a political rally, or a protest. A family event. High school kids in marching bands. High school cheerleaders waving from Christmas-themed floats. Little kids holding grandpa's hand to see Santa and his elves. Street vendors selling hot coffee and doughnuts.

What was that jerk thinking? Whatever he was fleeing could not possibly have been as bad as what he did. I just shake my head in disbelief at the recklessness and indifference to the harm, pain, and suffering that he inflicted. Where did such a person grow up? Was he raised in a barn without any moral instruction about right and wrong?

Does Wisc have the death penalty? If so, this guy has a cell on death row awaiting him. And now, he has ruined his life also. I just don't get it.

[Walleye]

1. Violence is a disease that spreads

[WhiskeyGrinder]

2. Wisconsin does not have the death penalty.

[brooklynite]

3. Your question implies he knew about the parade and intended to cause death and injury.

Last edited Mon Nov 22, 2021, 10:34 AM - Edit history (1)

A person fleeing from the police (as indicated) isn't thinking clearly about where he's going, what might be in his path and what he'll do when he encounters an obstacle.

[Klaralven]

7. There is no lack of cross streets where he could have exited

Instead, he drove the length of the parade route.

[vlyons]

11. No, I think he was fleeing some situation

and made a wrong turn that took him onto the parade route. But even so, he saw that there was a parade in progress and just kept driving -- oblivious to how many people he hit. How could he not see?

[PTWB]

14. He had to drive through barricades to even get to the parade route which was closed off.

And the barricades were being manned by the police. This seems like more than just a mistake made while fleeing some other crime he had just committed.

[meadowlander]

17. By the time he hit the 40th person, you'd think he would have cottoned on.

[ForgedCrank]

18. You have GOT to be kidding me.

For real, you don't think this person saw the hundreds of people in his path well before he mowed them down, and KEPT GOING?
My God man.

[Bonx]

22. I watched him deliberately run over many people. He has eyes, right?

[BlackSkimmer]

23. When fleeing, they don't notice a MARCHING BAND in front of them?

Seems lik he’s when most people with a working brain and a moral compass slam on the brakes.

[Devil Child]

26. He steered his red SUV around a shriner parade vehicle

Line up on a crowd of parading elderly women and an all-girl dance group. He then punched the accelerator and drove through that group before making his escape to back his vehicle in and await police.

His actions communicate deliberate calculated intent to me. Driven home more so with the substance and content of his social media footprint plus robust violent criminal history.

[BlackSkimmer]

33. This.

He saw those people and floored it.

[pinkstarburst]

32. Brooks had a criminal history of doing just that

https://www.kxan.com/news/national-news/at-least-5-dead-40-injured-after-suv-speeds-into-christmas-parade/

"The Milwaukee County district’s attorney office emailed reporters copies of the criminal complaints in both of those cases. In the more recent one, a woman told police that Brooks deliberately ran her over with his vehicle in a gas station parking lot after a fight. She was hospitalized for her injuries."

[Devil Child]

35. Charged with intentional homicide BTW

[snowybirdie]

4. No death penalty

in Wisconsin. Even Dahmer got a life sentence. Such a horrible thing to happen at a parade for children!

[Haggard Celine]

5. I'm guessing that he was on drugs or drunk or both.

I just can't imagine someone doing that who had all of his faculties at the time. That doesn't have to be the case, of course, but it makes it easier for me to accept if it was.

[Amishman]

9. agreed, I'm suspecting some sort of major impairment was involved

If his goal was to hit as many people as possible, this could have actually been worse. Yet the aggressively driving through the parade and plowing into several groups was clearly a deliberate act. The contradiction between the two is best explained by major cognitive impairment.

Also expecting a pro law and order response of out this and some major pot stirring by the worst of the right; given the suspect's race, criminal history, and background. Especially if drugs are involved or the rumor about fleeing a previous crime pans out.

[Haggard Celine]

10. Yes, I was thinking the same thing about the racial angle in this case.

I saw part of that video of his that was posted. Doesn't make him look very good, especially to older conservative white people who watch a certain "news" channel. The timing could hardly be worse, too, coming on the heels of the KR trial.

Sometimes I wish we could go back to the days when the news wasn't broadcasted everywhere instantaneously, unless it was a national news story. It's hard for people to keep things in perspective nowadays when we hear about all the happenings in all the small towns immediately. This nation might die as a result of an overdose on news. There's no going back, though, and besides, if there weren't any social media, where would I hang out?

[Mr.Bill]

30. There are already people on RWNJ forums

calling this BLM's revenge for Kyle Rittenhouse's verdict.

[rockfordfile]

37. Rittenhouse and that killer have things in common.

They both seem to hate women. Both uses violence to "solve" their hate.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

6. Many times stupidity is more dangerous than malice. Rittenhouse only killed 2, cruelly. Waukesha 5

[wnylib]

8. I don't get it either.

The only thing I can think of as a reason for it is that, in his eagerness to flee a bad situation, he forgot that it was the day of the parade, or didn't know the route of the parade.

But even that does not make sense since he would have heard the parade noise and would have seen the people in the streets. Did he think that he could just plow his way through them and escape at the end of the parade route? That the parade and spectators would "step aside" for him? That they would provide cover for him from whomever he was fleeing?

How do you just run people down?

What a lifetime of horror and sadness for anyone who was there.

[inthewind21]

29. You're assuming

He knew about the parade, when it was etc.

[wnylib]

34. Um, not really. Read my first couple

of sentences.

If he forgot or didn't know, he surely knew once he got to the police barricades, a matching band, decorated vehicles, and crowds in the street.

[Girard442]

12. Maybe we'll end up with convincing evidence this wasn't a hate crime.

That won't bring anyone back but might save some lives.

[AngryOldDem]

13. He was thinking only of himself.

Criminal with a long record fleeing another crime scene. Don’t know if the knife fight reached the level of a felony, but prosecute this asshole (if possible) for felony murder if it did.

Unconscionable. How depraved can one be?

[Froggyproggy]

15. Unfortunately evil exists.

Not to say that acts like this are ever warranted, but sometimes it really is being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Hopefully, measure will be taken to prevent this type of event in the future.

A few years ago a pilled up young man plowed through a crowd at Mardi Gras here in New Orleans. Since then, the city has positioned city vehicles, barriers, and vendor trucks accordingly so that they help to prevent actions like this from occurring. It’s not a perfect solution, but a necessary action to help minimize the chance of a mass casualty event.

[JI7]

16. He has a record of violence.

[meadowlander]

19. Including multiple incidents of domestic violence.

He's a scumbag.

And if he was still in jail for beating his partners this might not have happened.

[littlemissmartypants]

41. Too bad law enforcement agencies just chalk up a "domestic" episode

To "meh" because, well women can't be trusted and possibly, most likely in their minds, are the agent provocateurs.

It's time to start beating the drum that is fully supported by Years of research. Intimate Partner Violence, IPV, is almost ALWAYS a precursor to mass murder, mass casualty events.

As soon as any history of so called "domestic" violence is evident that guilty party should be flagged as at high risk of initiating a mass casualty event. It's science!!

I'm sick to death of the ancient presupposition that allows these lowlifes to escape scrutiny and subsequently leads to these IPV offenders never being accountable for their actions.

IPV crosses gender lines.

It's a harbinger of serious, societal violence.

The evidence speaks for itself. It's been researched to the moon and back!

IPV it's a definite warning sign (and should be the first trigger) for LE to get serious about the risks these offenders are to the community at large.

There is also plenty of evidence that victim blaming is SOP.

The antiquated, misogynistic notion that "wiminfolk" are somehow culpable for these episodes of domestic assault needs to be squashed like a bug.

How many women (trans women and even men) do you think there are in prison because they were forced to use self defense against their abusers? Too many!!

Blame is a broad notion and until we stop playing the blame game and follow the science on IPV, all of us, especially our progeny will constantly be targets open to attack.

The primary sorrow of my life is that we, primarily females are not full citizens under the law in the United States of America and that I will die before I see a time when women, all gender identifying females, worldwide, will be elevated to the equal status in life, and all that goes with it, that we deserve.

To borrow a turn of phrase, "It's the IPV, Stupid."

[BlackSkimmer]

42. ...

[littlemissmartypants]

48. Thank you. ❤

[DemocratSinceBirth]

20. Life in prison without parole.

[maxsolomon]

21. Reptile-brain panic. Flight or fight.

"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it."
-Agent K, MIB I

[Music Man]

24. May he rot in hell.

[Mosby]

25. Darrell Brooks Jr. Is an antisemite among other issues

Fan of fake Hitler quotes:

Link to tweet

[Devil Child]

27. Thank you Mosby for airing this

[Mosby]

28. I don't buy the story that he was fleeing another incident either.

Seems premeditated to me. Don't care if he was on drugs/alcohol or just nuts. This shit has got to stop.

[Devil Child]

31. Total agreement

This is reinforced the more I learn of him.

[budkin]

36. The guy was obviously mentally ill or a psychopath

There is just no way you could pull that off otherwise.

[Mosby]

38. Two of the victims.

Link to tweet

[hamil]

39. read his rap sheet

he has a long history of thuggery. A street hood such as this feels no compassion for taking human lives. No death penalty in WI. Let's hope he spends the rest of his life servicing the general population in prison.

[Devil Child]

40. Advocating sexual assault as terror-punishment while incarcerated deserves condemnation

No, he deserves trial. If convicted, a sentence in alignment with his charges.

[OneGrassRoot]

43. How does premeditation work, legally?

I think everyone agrees this was no accident in that he knew what he was doing and what would happen. And, yes, he intended to hit them. It's not like he thought he could weave through the crowd.

I think the part that is unknown is whether or not it was premeditated. Did he leave the initial crime scene with the intent of causing more harm? Was he wanting to lash out at a specific group of people? Or was it a horrific, impulsive, violent massacre with no premeditation beyond that decision to escape the initial crime scene and then drive through the crowd once he got there?

I believe authorities said it's not terrorism, which indicates to me little premeditation.

But what goes against him is that he does have a history of this specific violent act, so I wonder how impulsive it was?

I haven't seen anyone defend him. People are just wondering how planned and targeted it may have been.

[Solomon]

51. Premeditation can be a split second. You

Last edited Tue Nov 23, 2021, 09:58 PM - Edit history (1)

don't have to think about it overnight.

[Devil Child]

52. Bingo n/t

[OneGrassRoot]

54. Thank you. I truly didn't know that. Very helpful. n/t

[Demovictory9]

44. why wasn't his truck impounded when he ran over his girlfriend with it a few weeks prior?

[Devil Child]

46. A good question that deserves an answer n/t

[ecstatic]

45. Let's start with investigating why he was released from jail

after intentionally running over his child's mother. I think there are officials who intentionally release dangerous people who will do their bidding in order to stay out of jail (hit jobs, drug deals, etc). In this case, it backfired big time and now a bunch of people are dead or seriously injured.

[librechik]

47. Deranged people by definition are irrational

Their reasons are not reasonable, but unique and highly personal. Rational folks will not be able to understand not really.

[RobinA]

49. He's A None Too Swift

career criminal. Those types don't think, they react. He was fleeing whatever and he did what he felt he had to do in the moment to avoid the pain of getting caught. Did he think it through before he even committed the original crime that day? Nope. Did he ask himself if his actions afterwards were going to serve his purpose? Nope. Those types "think" second to second. I liken it to a movie film. Movie film is a series of still pictures with no intrinsic connection. Same with the thinking here. Stimulus followed by reaction. Next stimulus, next reaction. I doubt he even processed that he was in a parade. He just saw obstacles to his flight.

[WarGamer]

53. Fleeing is strange terminology. There was no police pursuit.

Maybe he had left the scene of a crime he just committed and thought "I'm screwed now, going back to prison" and decided to fulfill some evil fantasy about killing innocents?

[XanaDUer2]

50. Probably a sociopath nt