Minnesota authorities charged the driver of an SUV that allegedly plowed into a protester-filled intersection with second degree murder, saying his license was suspended after a string of drunk driving arrests stretching back over a decade.
Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges on Wednesday, describing the Sunday crash that killed one woman and injured another person as a “violent intentional act.”
NBC News affiliate KARE reported the victim was 31 year old Deona Marie.
Nicholas D. Kraus, 35, is currently jailed on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, according to Hennepin County court records.
Kraus faces three charges, including second degree murder and assault with a deadly weapon, according to a criminal complaint.
He allegedly drove his SUV into an intersection blocked by vehicles and protesters, knocking a parked car into protesters, with one witness saying his vehicle accelerated as it neared the protesters, according to Freeman.
The protesters were there to demonstrate against the fatal shooting of a Black man, Winston Boogie Smith, by U.S. Marshals earlier this month.
In an announcement that included details of a separate vehicular homicide that also took place last weekend, Freeman said his office was “shocked by this level of violence in our streets,” and described Kraus’ suspected role in his fatal crash as “an extreme and violent intentional act.”
“[Kraus’s] behavior and admittance to intentionally driving towards the protestors is one important reason why we have charged him with intentional second-degree murder,” Freeman said in a press release.
Freeman also noted that officers believed Kraus was drunk at the time of incident.
It was not immediately clear whether Kraus has an attorney, according to the Hennepin County Attorney’s office.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
