A video captured the moment a suspect vandalized a George Floyd statue in New York City with gray paint.
The video, which was posted to Twitter by the New York Police Department's (NYPD) Crime Stoppers Unit, showed an individual kneeling down near the statue appearing to reach into a backpack.
As the video continued, the man got on a skateboard holding a can of paint. While riding the skateboard past the statue of Floyd, the man in the video tossed the can of paint towards the statue. The end of the video shows part of the statue covered with a line of gray paint thrown by the suspect.
A spokesperson for the NYPD told Newsweek that the incident occurred on Sunday, October 3 at around 10:15 a.m. local time. The statue of Floyd is located "in the south plaza of Union Square Park," the NYPD spokesperson said.
"The individual threw gray paint on the face and base of the statue and then fled the location while still riding on the skateboard, heading northbound on the west side of Union Square Park," the NYPD spokesperson told Newsweek.
According to the spokesperson, the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is leading the investigation into the incident.
In the statement sent to Newsweek, the NYPD said that the unidentified suspect was a male with a light complexion and a medium build. He was last seen wearing "a black hat, a dark green jacket, a neon green t-shirt, black shorts, black and white sneakers and a green backpack," the NYPD said.
The NYPD released the video on social media in hopes that the public will help in identifying the suspected vandal. Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact NYPD Crime Stoppers Unit.
According to the Washington Post, this is the second time this statue of Floyd's face has been vandalized. On June 24, soon after it was erected in Brooklyn, the sculpture was vandalized with black paint by a suspected vandal.
While speaking with the Post, Chris Carnabuci, who created the statue of Floyd, said that the most recent vandalism incident "didn't come as a complete surprise."
"Vandalism of any sort is not an action that is productive or meaningful," Carnabuci said in a statement, according to the Post. "Actions like this remind us that we have a long way to go, and we will never stop fighting."
Following the vandalism on Sunday, community members nearby helped to clean off the paint that covered the statue.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
