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A Wisconsin man on Wednesday was found guilty of murder and other charges for killing six people and injuring dozens of others when he drove his SUV into a Christmas parade near Milwaukee last year.
The 12-person jury in Waukesha County convicted Darrell Brooks, 40, of six counts of intentional homicide, 61 counts of reckless endangerment, six counts of hit and run, two counts of bail jumping, and one count of battery for the attack. He faces life in prison when sentenced, which will begin Monday.
BREAKING: A jury quickly found #DarrellBrooks guilty on all charges stemming from the Waukesha Christmas parade attack. pic.twitter.com/OdygGvYfSx
— Law&Crime Network (@LawCrimeNetwork) October 26, 2022
On numerous occasions during the three-week trial, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Jennifer Dorow admonished Brooks, who defended himself, for failing to follow court rules. Dorow had to remove Brooks from the courtroom multiple times and put him in an adjoining room where he could participate via video for multiple outbursts and refusing to comply with the judge’s orders. At one point Dorow called a recess because Brooks was intensely staring her down, which said “frankly makes me scared.”
Brooks was accused of deliberately driving his sport utility vehicle through police barricades and into the crowds participating in the annual parade in the city of Waukesha, about 15 miles west of downtown Milwaukee on Nov. 21.
During his closing argument on Monday, Brooks told the jury that he had no intention of hurting anyone and that “it was [God’s] will for this to happen.” He said he sounded the vehicle’s horn as he drove through the crowd, attempting to warn people to get out of the way and that his vehicle had a defect that prevented him from stopping.
“When you ride through a parade route and roll over children … your intent is known, Mr. Brooks,” Waukesha County District Attorney Sue Opper said during closing arguments. “That’s not an accident.”
The ages of the people killed ranged from 8 to 81 years old, and more than 60 other people were injured, including at least 18 children.
Brooks, a Milwaukee resident, was out on bail from a domestic abuse charge at the time of the attack. He was arrested near the scene and has been in custody ever since.
Copyright 2022 Thomson/Reuters (Additions and edits for FISM News by Michael Cardinal)