EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — Vandals targeted a mural and marquee at Gunn Central, spraying paint onto a mural depicting Charlie Kirk, according to the business’s manager.
Cameron McIntyre, the manager at Gunn Central, said the vandalism happened “last night, some point after midnight.” He said it appeared the person used something similar to “those kids’ water toys where you suck the water up into the toy and then you shoot the water out” to spray paint “up on the Charlie Kirk mural and on our marquee.”
“It’s really frustrating,” McIntyre said. “It was a fairly expensive mural.”
McIntyre said the vandalism went beyond property damage.
“He disrespected the artist,” McIntyre said. “The artist spent days and days up there in the sun painting that up there, you know.”
McIntyre also said, “He obviously disrespected the memory of a dead person, whether or not you agreed with his political ideology or you are slandering and disrespecting somebody who’s passed away. Just disrespect all the way around.”
McIntyre said a police report has been filed.
He said the person who vandalized the mural “left his backpack on scene,” adding, “They definitely got his DNA, his fingerprints.” McIntyre said, “Probably won’t be long until they catch him.”
As for repairs, McIntyre said the business plans to try to remove the paint first. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll paint over it and repaint the mural,” he said.
McIntyre said people have noticed the damage. “Yeah, a lot of people have noticed and said how horrible it is that it happened,” he said.
McIntyre said Gunn Central plans to offer “a cash reward to any information that leads to the arrest of the perpetrator.”