Surveillance video just released by the NYPD shows two vandalism suspects in action — spray-painting the Christopher Columbus statue in Central Park with blood red paint last month. Now, police are hoping the public can help track them down.
It was around 10:15 pm on the night of Sunday, February 26th, when detectives say the two vandals were caught on camera climbing over barricades surrounding the statue, located at the Literary Walk, near 65th Street and East Drive inside Central Park.
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In the surveillance video, one suspect is seen wearing a black leather jacket and black beanie, while the other has on a bright orange puffer coat with a lime green bandana on their head. The duo then uses cans of spray paint to deface the statue of the famous explorer — covering the base of the 129-year-old bronze statue with red paint and tags reading ‘Murderer’ and ‘Give us our land back.’
While it had long been taught to schoolchildren that Christopher Columbus was a hero who discovered the ‘New World,’ he actually ‘discovered’ the indigenous people already living in the Americas, whom he enslaved and murdered.
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At one point in the video released by investigators, someone carrying a delivery worker-style waterproof bag walks through the frame, apparently unaware they were witnessing a crime in progress.
The NYPD says its Citywide Vandals Task force is handling the investigation.
If you recognize the suspects or have any information that can help police, you’re asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477.
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