Vandals reportedly beheaded and demolished a statue of Christopher Columbus in Yonkers, New York, Newsmax reports. The two-foot plaster statue in Yonkers’ Columbus Memorial Park was knocked off its pedestal and split in two, according to a TV station in Westchester County.
News 12 reported that police discovered the replica of Columbus’ face Tuesday at the foot of the pedestal, as the back of his head was at the top of a hill.
“It’s very upsetting that American values have sunken to the level they are today. It’s unfortunate because I did go up there, and I did see it all smashed.” Yonkers resident Pat Gamberdella told a local NBC affiliate.
Yonkers police are investigating and speculated it could be fallout from the deadly protests and counter-protests over a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month, NBC New York reported. Local police has also said that the incident could have been caused by juveniles overnight.
In a controversial move last week, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the statue in Columbus Circle in Manhattan would be among those examined by a commission he is appointing to recommend monuments that would be removed.
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