A teenager was arrested Thursday for allegedly scrawling paint over a Central Park monument earlier this week in an act of support for Gaza.
Police nabbed a 16-year-old boy and charged him with Criminal Mischief in the third degree, a felony, and Making Graffiti, a misdemeanor.
According to police, the teenager is one of three vandals who brazenly defaced the General William Tecumseh Sherman monument, located on the north side of Grand Army Plaza near East 60th Street and Fifth Avenue, on May 6 at approximately 8:30 p.m.
The trio allegedly used black and red spray paint to scrawl messages such as “Gaza” and “Free Palestine” on the sides of the 24-foot-high statue, according to law enforcement officials.
In an image released by police, the suspects can be seen defacing the statue while wearing COVID-style face masks and keffiyeh-inspired head coverings.
The monument, which has been in place since 1903, depicts Union General Sherman with his horse, Ontario, being led by the allegorical figure of Victory.
