By Maria Dash
Purdue University – Indiana
Five people are dead and nine others are hurt after a man driving a car plowed into the crowd of spectators at a holiday parade in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, police said early Friday morning.
“We have multiple victims, here. Five are dead and nine others are injured, some seriously. Police are still pulling bodies from the car. This is a very busy intersection,” Manitowoc Deputy Police Chief Scott St. James told local station WTMJ-TV.
The incident took place near the St. Nicholas Inn and was described as a “white sedan with multiple bullet holes in it as well as signs on the side that read ‘Sons of Anarchy,'” WTMJ said.
Photographs posted to social media showed a motorist being pinned to the car by emergency responders. “Mommy’s okay and I’m going to survive,” one victim’s message read, according to a post on Twitter.
Nearby area businesses stopped their operations and TV stations broadcast a live feed of the aftermath of the crash.
Those who were injured were taken to the hospital, CNN affiliate WTMJ reported.
The driver, identified as 35-year-old Joseph Jakubowski, faces nine felonies — four counts of first-degree reckless homicide, five counts of second-degree reckless homicide, one count of armed robbery and one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, the Manitowoc County Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident comes nearly three years after 20 people were killed in a shooting spree by a man from Minnesota at a Brookfield, Wisconsin, office complex.
The FBI warned members of the public that Jakubowski could be traveling to the Northeast, Southeast and central US, and may be on the run from the law. Authorities in Southeastern Wisconsin confirmed they had a man, later identified as Jakubowski, in custody for the incident.
By Adam Makos and Shane Frank