A Wisconsin resident thought he was doing a good deed by helping a man who knocked on his door and asked for help. It turns out, however, the man “in need” was actually the suspect who had allegedly just plowed through the holiday parade in Waukesha. So far, six have died and dozens of others were injured in the deadly incident.
CBS News reported that the suspect, who will not be named per Daily Wire policy regarding mass casualty events, knocked on Daniel Rider’s door shortly after police say he intentionally drove his red SUV through parade participants and watchers.
“Daniel Rider said he was sitting in his living room watching the Dallas Cowboys play the Kansas City Chiefs when [the suspect] knocked on his door, asking for help. He had no clue about the mayhem that unfolded downtown just moments earlier. Rider said his mom told him the message of a church sermon about helping the homeless,” CBS reported.
Rider told CBS that he thought this was his “chance to help somebody” and let the suspect into his home. Part of the encounter was captured on Rider’s doorbell camera. The suspect also parked his red SUV near Rider’s home.
Rider lent the suspect his jacket and made him a sandwich, thinking he was homeless and cold. He told CBS that the suspect sat on the couch and called his mother several times.
“He was so polite. He was nice to me. He listened to everything I told him to do. Now, knowing what he just did moments before that, it’s hard to even wrap your head around,” Rider told CBS.
At some point, the suspect asked Rider if he knew what was going on downtown. Rider was unaware, since he was watching the football game. An alert had been sent out to residents to shelter in place, but the suspect was using Rider’s phone.
“I had no idea anything was happening,” Rider told the outlet.
“He is he is telling me that, ‘Oh, is there something going on downtown?’ I was like, ‘There’s a parade today.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, that’s probably the parade.’ So he was just completely putting on a face and lying about everything,” Rider added.
Rider said that after 10 minutes he started “getting real nervous” when he saw a police car in the neighborhood, and asked the suspect to leave.
The suspect was arrested shortly after leaving Rider’s home.
The suspect was reportedly released on bail just days before the deadly Waukesha incident. As The Daily Wire reported:
According to the Wisconsin Circuit Court database, a man by the same name and age posted $1,000 bail on Friday after being charged with three misdemeanors and two felonies, including second-degree recklessly endangering safety. Heavy confirmed that two Milwaukee police cruisers stopped by the address listed on the court database on Sunday.