Officials at Children’s Wisconsin confirmed that it received 18 child patients following a mass casualty incident at a Waukesha Christmas parade that left five dead and dozens injured.
The Milwaukee hospital, which confirmed the number of patients at its trauma center on Monday morning, said that “the Children’s Wisconsin Emergency Department and Trauma Center is fully open to support any community need, in addition to responding to this fluid and dynamic situation.”
“This is unique and truly demonstrates the devastating effects of this on our community,” said Dr. Michael Meyer of Children’s Wisconsin, according to local media.
Meyer and other officials said that the ages of the patients range from 3 to 16 years. The victims suffered a range of injuries, including broken bones, facial abrasions, and serious head trauma. Two patients are undergoing surgery on Monday, they were quoted by Fox6 as saying.
“The injuries from Sunday night will go well beyond the physical and will take time to heal. We must all continue to lean on each other and to encourage those impacted to reach out and to use the resources that are available to them,” said Dr. Michael Gutzeit of Children’s Wisconsin, according to the outlet.
Six children are listed in critical condition and are in the hospital’s intensive care unit, Meyer confirmed.
On Sunday evening, a red SUV sped down the parade route, striking numerous people. Officials said that at least five people died and more than 40 were hurt.
Numerous videos of the incident showed the vehicle plowing into crowds of parade participants, including members of a school marching band.
The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, which took part in the holiday parade, confirmed that several of its members were killed during the incident, according to a Facebook post.
One person was taken into custody, and a Waukesha police officer opened fire to try to stop the vehicle, authorities said Sunday night.
Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson gave no immediate details about the person in custody or any possible motive. Thompson said that he did not know if the driver was hit by the officer’s bullets but that no bystanders were wounded.
Another video shows a young child dancing in the street as the SUV speeds by, just a few feet from her, before it hurtles into parade participants a few hundred feet ahead. One video, of dancers with pompoms, ends with a group of people tending to a girl on the ground.
“There were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughter,” Corey Montiho, a Waukesha school district board member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
