The bright mural, which was painted on the side of a building’s brick wall in Toledo last year, wound up being reduced to rubble Tuesday.
The large George Floyd Mural created by an Ohio artist has been destroyed and vandalized over time leading to its collapse today.
The artwork honoring Floyd, who was killed by fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, with a gaping hole in it as a mound of colored bricks laid beneath it is shown online.
Witnesses reported to local police and fire officials that the mural crumbled as a result of lightning striking at around 4:30 p.m., according to WTVG and WTOL
The George Floyd mural on the side of this building at Summit and Lagrange has collapsed. No word yet on what may have caused the collapse. pic.twitter.com/2WxOSpwicc
— WTVG 13abc (@13abc) July 13, 2021
Witnesses also said they saw people falling from it, but thankfully, no one was killed or severely injured during this tragic event
A lightning strike at the same time as a storm caused a major setback for “The Wall That Heals” mural project. The large-scale artwork was all but destroyed by sparks from an electric wire that rubbed against it and set off flashes of light, which were picked up on Doppler weather radar.
A witness who saw the mural wall collapse said they saw lightning strike the building.
This was reported by WTOL, however, Hugh Koogan told The Blade that it appeared as though natural deterioration caused this event to happen.
“It was just age. It just came away,” Koogan said, explaining that the city noticed bowing in the middle of the wall recently. “It happens to the older buildings.”
NEW – George Floyd mural at Summit and Lagrange destroyed by a lightning strike. Doppler Radar did show a lightning strike in that block at about 4:30 PM. pic.twitter.com/myj7l541Lz
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) July 14, 2021
Artist David Ross, who painted the mural titled “Take a Breath” in the month after Floyd was murdered amid nationwide and global protests against police brutality said he was suspicious of whether or not it is vandalism.
“When I did the mural, there was stuff on the wall that I couldn’t remove and that let me know how strong that structure was,” Ross told The Blade. “The lightning thing, that’s possible, but I know it didn’t just fall.”
Regardless, the artist says he plans on re-doing the mural at another location.
“I’m not upset because I know I’m going to do it again, whether it was natural or vandalism,” Ross said.
for more details and updates visit The Market Activity
