A Minnesota man was charged with murder on Wednesday after he allegedly rammed his car into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis, killing one person.
Nicholas Kraus, 35, of St. Paul, faces one count of second-degree intentional murder and two counts of second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Hennepin County Attorney. Police responded to the scene on late Sunday night, where they found a female victim with severe head injuries and another person with leg and rib injures, the criminal complaint said. The woman did not survive.
WOMAN DEAD AND ANOTHER INJURED AFTER CAR DRIVES INTO PROTESTERS IN MINNEAPOLIS
A barricade had been formed in the protest area, and police say Kraus admitted to accelerating in the direction of the barricade in an attempt to jump it despite seeing people. He allegedly said he thought he might hit someone.
Kraus was reportedly drunk at the time of the incident, prosecutors said, adding that he had a suspended license and multiple convictions for driving while intoxicated.
“This office is shocked by this level of violence in our streets,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said, adding, “The defendant, Mr. Kraus, in the Uptown fatal incident in which he struck and killed a peaceful female protestor while intoxicated, and injured additional protestors, is an extreme and violent intentional act. His behavior and admittance to intentionally driving towards the protestors is one important reason why we have charged him with intentional second-degree murder.”
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Kraus is being held on $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.
