Disgusting! Outrage after vile vandal defaces George Floyd statue hours after unveiling | World | News

The artwork was revealed as part of an exhibition to recognise racial injustice. A statue erected to commemorate George- an African American man killed at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis last year – was vandalised just 48 hours after it was unveiled in Manhattan, New York.

George’s death sparked international outrage and prompted worldwide protests against racism protests led by the Black Lives Matter movement.

Community leaders expressed their disgust when just two days after the statue commemorating George was unveiled it was splashed with grey paint across.

The police a now hunting an anonymous skateboarderwho is thought to have vandalised the statue’s face.

An investigation has been launched into the incident and the clean-up to restore the bust to its original shine began immediately by volunteers.

Lindsay Eshelman, co-founder of the group Confront Art, said: “We put it in two days ago and 48 hours later we are with vandalism.”

This is not the first time the statue – which was originally in Brooklyn – was vandalised after it was smeared with black paint five days after it was unveiled.

One Twitter user, @djslasher2021, tweeted: “A statue honoring George Floyd in New York City has been vandalized again.

“Police say a video shows a man on a skateboard throwing paint on the statue, then fleeing.

READ MORE: Derek Chauvin sentenced to 22 years and six months in jail

“The statue, now in Manhattan, also had been vandalized after its unveiling in Brooklyn.”

In New York, the statue was unveiled with two other statues of John Lewis and Breonna Taylor – who were killed at the hands of the police.

However, the two statues adjacent to George’s were untouched, according to the police.

The statues will remain on display in Union Square until October 30 for the exhibition called ‘See Injustice’.

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After, the busts will be moved to different cities throughout the country to “honour the lives and ongoing messages through art, trying together three iconic people”, Confront Art said.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said: “I am disgusted by the vandalism of George Floyd’s statue in Union Square.

“Mr Floyd’s murder last summer ignited a nationwide movement for justice.

“The trauma of his tragic death should not be compounded by the trauma of seeing his memorial defaced.”

The arrest of George was captured on video, which showed police officer Derek Chauvin pushing his knee into the handcuffed man’s neck.

This continued for more than nine minutes outside the grocery shop where George had been accused of buying cigarettes with a fake $20 bill.

In April this year, Chauvin was found guilty on all three charges of murder and manslaughter in the killing of George.

The jury found Chauvin guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, guilty of third-degree murder and guilty of involuntary manslaughter.

The jury said it had reached a verdict on its second day of deliberations in the trial of the former Minneapolis policeman.

All 12 jurors found 45-year-old Chauvin guilty of George’s death.

In June, he was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison, with the possibility of supervised release contingent on factors such as good behaviour after serving two-thirds of his sentence or 15 years for second-degree murder.