It would be hard to forget the horrible attack against the Christmas parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2021, when Darrell Brooks ran his car into the crowd and killed six people and injured dozens more. Brooks is now convicted, locked up with six consecutive life sentences, and will fortunately never get out after he got over 700 years in prison. 

On top of that, FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke this week of the raised threat level, saying it was at an "all-time high." We can see that, particularly in light of the Israeli-Hamas war, the animosity being pushed against both Israel and the U.S., and the crazy leftist protests, some of which have gotten out of hand and been violent. We've also seen those groups targeting Christmas tree-lighting events with protests. They got violent with the police at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree lighting, for example, with multiple fights in the street and reported arrests. They held up signs including "Revolution until victory," and they even burnt a police officer's hat. 

So everyone is on a heightened state of alert in a very tense time. 

Then, on Thursday night, there was the story in Bakersfield, California about the driver of a Ford F-150 smashing into a crowd waiting for the start of the Christmas parade. 

🚨#BREAKING: Multiple Paradegoers Struck After Truck Drives Through Christmas Parade⁰⁰📌#Bakersfield | #California ⁰⁰Emergency crews are on the scene in Bakersfield, California, after a truck drove through the yearly Christmas parade, striking multiple paradegoers who were… pic.twitter.com/hl7xL9jMqL

— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) December 8, 2023

Multiple people were struck by the truck when the driver drove it through the crowd at about 5:30 p.m. At least three men were seriously injured. Police were in the area for the parade when they heard the white pickup truck accelerating, then saw it hit the people — a 21-year-old, a 42-year-old, and a 77-year-old. The police said the truck backed up at a high rate of speed into the people. They were hit right outside the Fire Department, so the first responders were there right away to give them aid, and they're now in stable condition. The parade was rerouted but did continue. 

There were reports that the man may have tried to fight with the police or been belligerent as they were trying to detain him. Police say they believe alcohol was a factor, but the investigation is continuing. The suspect who was arrested is reportedly a 72-year-old man, but they have not identified the person yet or given an official reason for the incident. However, the driver is in custody, and they said there was no further danger. 

The investigation at 21st St and H St is for a vehicle which collided with 3 adult pedestrians. The pedestrians were transported to a local hospital for car. The driver is in custody and the investigation is ongoing.

— Bakersfield Police (@bakersfieldpd) December 8, 2023

The police said they would release more information as the investigation allowed, so we will likely find out more in short order.