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The suspect of the Waukesha Christmas parade attack was slapped with 71 new charges on top of the original 6

police man walks site near suv speeding Wisconsin
Police seen at a holiday parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, on November 22, 2021.REUTERS/Cheney Orr
  • Prosecutors filed dozens of new charges against the suspect of the Waukesha Christmas Parade attack.

  • The suspect now faces 77 total charges, including 61 charges of recklessly endangering safety.

  • Prosecutors said the man also assaulted his ex-girlfriend just moments before the parade.

Prosecutors on Wednesday filed an additional 71 charges against a man they accused of driving an SUV through a Christmas parade in late November, adding to the original six homicide counts he already faces.

Darrell Brooks Jr., 39, now faces 61 charges of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, six counts of hit and run resulting in death, two counts of felony bail jumping, and two counts of misdemeanor battery (a domestic abuse charge), according to court documents seen by Insider.

The tragedy at the November 23 parade in Waukesha, Wisconsin, left six people dead and more than 60 others injured. Victims included three members of the dance troupe the Milwaukee Dancing Grannies, and an eight-year-old boy.

Brooks Jr. smashed into revelers with his red Ford Escape at around 25 miles per hour — sending objects and bodies flying — and ran over people as they lay injured or dying on the ground, according to a criminal complaint filed against him. Civilian and police witness accounts cited by prosecutors said he zig-zagged through the crowd intentionally to "hit as many parade participants" as possible.

At one point, prosecutors said, Brooks Jr. leaned his head out the window to steer because a body on his windshield obscured his view.

"At no time does the vehicle stop to avoid striking any person," the criminal complaint read.

According to prosecutors, moments before he drove his SUV into the parade on November 21, Brooks Jr. assaulted the mother of his child because she hadn't bailed him out of jail.

Prosecutors said earlier in November, Brooks Jr. had been charged with ramming his car into a woman but was released two days before the parade. His bail had been set at $1,000, which the Wisconsin District Attorney's Office previously said was "inappropriately low."

Brooks Jr.'s bail is now $5 million. A preliminary hearing has been set for Friday.

Read the original article on Insider