UPDATED 10/4, 5:56 p.m. ET: The NYPD released a video of a suspect vandalizing the statue, riding by on a skateboard as he splashes paint on the bust in broad daylight. TMZ obtained the clip from the department’s Crime Stoppers division, noting the city’s Hate Crime Task Force is on the case.
Here’s the footage:
See original story below.
Less than 48 hours after its unveiling, a George Floyd statue in New York City’s Union Square has been vandalized, the New York Postreports
The incident allegedly took place Sunday morning around 10 a.m. Police say a male suspect doused the statue in paint, smearing a streak of silver down the middle of Floyd’s face, before riding off on a skateboard.
The statue, titled “See Injustice” and created by artist Chris Carnabuci, was unveiled Thursday to the public. The exhibition also includes statues of Breonna Taylor and John Lewis, the civil rights leader who died last year.
Confront Art and We are Floyd released a joint statement in response to the incident.
“It takes a lot of courage to display the 3 statues we are exhibiting in Union Square,” the organizations said. “It also takes a good deal of courage to vandalize a statue on a global stage in broad daylight. This continues to bring light to our mission that art is a conversation catalyst, a place for public discourse, and through these acts we can hopefully overcome hate and find unity for the future. We continue to be inspired to create and display public art to further this important mission.”
