Actions

‘Racist’ painted in red on Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue

Posted at 4:09 AM, Oct 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-17 12:55:12-04

RICHMOND, Va. -- Richmond Police are looking for the person responsible for vandalizing the Jefferson Davis statue on Monument Avenue.

Police were alerted to the vandalism around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The word "racist" was painted in red on the statue that honors the one-time President of the Confederate States.

Police will add extra patrols around the Monument Avenue statues during this investigation.

The city of Richmond is in the midst of discussions on what to do with the Confederate monuments.

As some cities and states opted to remove their Confederate statues in recent months, Richmond's mayor Levar Stoney has formed a commission to discuss the issue.

Last month, a small, out-of-state, pro-Confederate group rallied near the statue to Confederate General Robert E. Lee in an effort to save the city's Confederate monuments from possible removal. A much larger group of people held a counter-rally to decry what they considered to be messages of hate from the pro-Confederates.

Tuesday's discovery on Monument Avenue came one day after vandalism was reported at a Confederate monument in Norfolk.

Norfolk Police said sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. on Monday, someone spray painted "#2 BETTER LUCK NEVER" on the statue.

That monument, located in the 400 block of E. Main Street, was also vandalized in May, when someone spray painted “SHAME” on the statue.

This is a developing story. Submit a news tip here.

CBS6-News-at-4pm-and-Jennifer-Hudson-480x360.jpg

Entertainment

Watch 'The Jennifer Hudson Show' weekdays at 3 p.m. on CBS 6!

📱 Download CBS 6 News App
The app features breaking news alerts, live video, weather radar, traffic incidents, closings and delays and more.