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George Floyd statue in Brooklyn vandalized; police investigate as hate crime

A George Floyd statue by artist Chris Carnabuci was unveiled as part of Juneteenth celebration in Brooklyn on June 19, 2021. The U.S. on June 17 designated Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the country, a federal holiday with President Joe Biden urging Americans "to learn from our history." (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

NEW YORK (WPIX) —  A statue of George Floyd in Brooklyn was found vandalized on Thursday morning, less than a week after it was unveiled as part of a Juneteenth rally.

Vandals sprayed black paint onto the 6-foot-tall sculpture. On the pedestal, they painted a URL that appears to be associated with a white nationalist hate group.


Floyd, a Black man, died on May 25, 2020, after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for about 9 minutes. 

The pedestal of the statue honoring him was created with a quote from his brother on it.

“Pay attention and continue to keep my big brother’s name ringing in the ears of everyone,” the quote from Terrence Floyd reads.

Police said the vandalism would be investigated as a hate crime.

No arrests have been made.