Darrell Brooks Jr. Feels “Demonized” After Being Charged For Parade Killings

Darrell Brooks Jr., the man who drove through a Christmas parade and killed multiple people, is speaking out about the ordeal.

From Waukesha County Jail, Brooks Jr. told Fox News digital that he feels he is being portrayed as something he is not.

“I just feel like I’m being monster-demonized,” Brooks shared.

The 39-year-old is being accused of plowing through police barricades and hitting multiple people participating in the Waukesha holiday parade on November 21st. Six people ranging from ages 8 to 81 have died due to being hit by his Ford SUV. A dozen others sustained serious injuries. Video from the incident shows Brooks Jr. driving in a zig-zag motion through the crowd, hitting bystanders and people in the parade without stopping. Police say that moments before he hit the group, Brooks Jr. had assaulted a woman at a nearby gas station and fled the scene before cops arrived. Law enforcement says they were not chasing Brooks Jr. at the time of the incident, though they did say they fired at this vehicle to stop him from hitting anyone else.

During his brief interview, Brooks Jr. says that his family had not visited him nor spoken with him since his arrest. After hearing news of his mother releasing a statement that highlighted his mental health struggles, Brooks Jr. promptly ended the meeting and could be heard sobbing as he was being escorted back to his cell.

In her statement, Dawn Woods, Brooks Jr.’s mother, said that she is not making excuses for her son. However, she claims that the healthcare system failed Brooks Jr. by not providing him with adequate mental health care when he became an adult.

“Institutions that are equipped and have trained staff is what was needed as well as resources in the communities where people who suffer with mental illness live,” Woods explained.

Brooks Jr. has been charged with six counts of first-degree intentional homicide. He is being held on a $5 million bond. His defense attorney, Joseph Domask, withdrew from the case earlier this week, revealing that he knows some of the victims.