Pride flag mural defaced in South Florida, police investigating incident
Fort Lauderdale, Florida – The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is currently investigating an incident of vandalism in which a 150-foot-long pride flag street mural was defaced with tire marks. The mural, located on Sebastian Street in South Florida, was captured on surveillance video, which showed a Ford F-250 pickup truck doing a burnout along the length of the mural on February 28th. The truck then left the scene, and the tire marks cannot be washed off without causing damage to the paint. The incident has been described as “completely senseless” and “completely filled with hate” by the president of Pride Fort Lauderdale.
The cost of the damage is over $1,000, and the installation had been on display for less than a month before it was defaced. Officials are now trying to determine whether the flag was intentionally defaced on a second occasion, as surveillance video captured by a resort’s cameras showed three young men on bicycles circling the flag and leaving several tire marks behind.
Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis has spoken out against the vandalism, condemning the perpetrators and urging them to “take your hate somewhere else.” He also stated that the city does not tolerate hate and bigotry towards any community. The Fort Lauderdale Police Department is gathering details surrounding the vandalism, and they stand in support of the LGBTQ community.
This senseless act of vandalism has caused widespread outrage, with many expressing their support for the LGBTQ community and their commitment to fighting hate and bigotry. Anyone with information regarding the incident is urged to contact the Fort Lauderdale Police Department, and the investigation is ongoing.
