A child injured Sunday by a driver who threw his car into a crowd of a Christmas parade in the United States died, bringing the death toll to six, authorities said on Tuesday when the accused appeared. .
Darrell Brooks Jr, 39, is being prosecuted for five intentional homicides, and a sixth charge will be added, said Susan Opper, a prosecutor for Waukesha County in Wisconsin.
He is accused of intentionally throwing his SUV vehicle into a crowd participating in or attending the annual parade on Main Street in Waukesha, a small town in the Great Lakes region, just moments after being embroiled in a marital dispute in proximity.
In his mad rush, Darrell Brooks also left more than 60 injured.
He appeared before a city court judge, who officially set out the five charges against him, each of which carries a life sentence.
“I would unfortunately like to report to the court that we have learned of the death of another child in this case,” said Ms. Opper.
He is an eight-year-old boy who was shot in the head, according to his family.
The accused, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, kept his head down for most of the hearing, appearing to sob at times.
His motives are unknown and the authorities had ruled out a terrorist motive on Monday, but the indictment underscored the presumed intentional nature of his act.
He did not obey the orders of two police officers who ordered him to stop before arriving at the parade site. On the contrary, he accelerated, and one of the officers “observed that the vehicle seemed to be traveling intentionally from one side of the road to the other, hitting many people.”
” Common sense “
“There are no words to describe the risks that this accused poses to the population, not only the risk of flight, but the danger of his past violence,” said Ms. Opper.
She asked for a $ 5 million bond, an amount accepted by Judge Kevin Costello.
Darrell Brooks Jr has a heavy judicial past. He has been involved in a dozen cases since 2000 in three US states, according to the prosecution.
In 2020, he was notably indicted for endangering others after shooting his nephew during an altercation. He was finally released in February 2021 on $ 500 bail.
At the beginning of November, he was again prosecuted for having hit and tried to crush the mother of his child. He was released a few days later on paying a $ 1,000 bond.
The Deputy Prosecutor “indicated that you used a vehicle to run over someone, so you are not responding well to what is considered common sense among the population, in our society,” Justice Kevin Costello commented at the address of the accused, before setting the next hearing for January 14.
The amount of this last deposit has revived the debate on the principle of release, a pillar of American justice, and of which certain States have limited the use.
This sum was “indecently low” in view of the facts and his heavy criminal past, admitted Monday the services of the district attorney of Milwaukee, John Chisholm.
An internal investigation was opened into this decision, taken in contradiction with the instructions concerning violent crimes and the risks posed by the accused, added the prosecutor.