The man who has been charged and accused of killing six people and injuring dozens after driving an SUV through a Christmas parade in Wisconsin claimed on Wednesday that he is being “demonized.”
The man accused, Darrell Brooks Jr., made the comment in an interview with Fox News from the Waukesha County Jail. However, Brooks offered no details about a possible motive for his alleged actions.
“I just feel like I’m being monster – demonized,” Brooks said to Fox.
Brooks allegedly drove his SUV into the parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on Nov. 21, the criminal complaint reports.
Those present at the parade said he was swerving, making it appear as though he was trying to hit people. Video of the incident was quickly all over the internet as onlookers were recording the parade.
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Brooks was arrested minutes after the incident, standing on the porch of a nearby house, asking the homeowner to help him get a ride.
According to the authorities, Brooks had fled the scene of a domestic disturbance when he turned into the parade even though officers were not chasing him.
After his arrest, Brooks was charged with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide.
Dawn Woods, Brooks’ mother, wrote a letter on Wednesday offering the family’s condolences to the victims. She claimed in her letter that her son suffers from mental health issues in his adult life.
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Woods added that he did not have insurance and finances to continue his medication and counseling, citing both points as the reasons he has committed crimes.
“Mental illness is real and the system is broken it can and must be fixed NOW, not next year or with a new legislation NOW. So many like Darrell that have fallen through the cracks because of a broken system that no one cared to address, can get the help they so desperately need,” Woods wrote in the letter, first obtained by WDJT-TV.
Brooks was out on $1,000 bail in another Milwaukee County case, something criticized by legal experts. In the case, Brooks allegedly used his car to strike a woman intentionally. He was charged in that case on Nov. 5.
