The Waukeshawn, Waukesha, Milwaukee, the third most populated county in the state of Wisconsin,

and also known as Guitar Town, because they are the home of Les Paul, pioneer of the electric guitar.

And they have a fantastic annual tradition. Each year, the city

hosts a festive Christmas parade to showcase local talent, community projects, and to mark

the official start of the holiday season. This tradition has gone on for over 60 years, and only

ever took a break in 2020 because of course of the pandemic.

2021 saw the much awaited return of the parade and it came with a focus bringing the community

back together after the uncertain and troubling times that we had all just been through.

The theme that year really cemented the feeling and the hope that everyone

had that the pandemic was finally behind us. The theme was comfort and joy. But around 4.30 on the

evening of the Christmas parade in 2021, a red Ford Escape SUV came hurtling down the street.

A police officer noticing that the car was heading straight for the parade tried to stop it.

He first banged on the hood and tried to get the driver's attention.

Then he opened fire.

But the driver drove on, bursting through the barricades and swinging the car side to side, causing the

number of hit victims to rise much higher than it would have been if he had only driven straight

through. As the crowd scrambled, some of them screaming, some of them crying in pain and shock,

the driver sat in his seat, calm and composed, seemingly oblivious to the growing carnage

around him that he had just caused. That man was 39-year-old Daryl Edward Brooks, Jr., a born and

raised Milwaukee residents with a troubling past. His criminal record dated back to 1999 when Darrell was

only 17, and every year seemed to bring with it a new entry. Part of the reason behind Darrell's

extensive criminal record came from his mental health. He'd been diagnosed as having bipolar

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