NYPD: Women Accused Of Vandalizing Midtown Black Lives Matter Mural Suspected Of 2 Similar Crimes Just Hours Later
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- CBS2 has learned new information about the woman accused of vandalizing the Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower on Saturday.
After being arrested and released, it appears they wanted to show their anger toward the group again as two more murals were defaced hours later, CBS2's Nick Caloway reported Sunday.
Empty paint cans and a path of destruction were left behind on Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard in Harlem. Overnight, 29-year-old Bevelyn Beatty posted video to social media showing her and an accomplice splattering black oil-based paint on the mural.
The NYPD said it got a call about the incident at around 11 p.m. on Saturday. The duo is also suspected of a similar strike on a mural in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn after midnight, police said.
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Beatty and 39-year-old Edmee Chavannes were allegedly seen Saturday afternoon on Fifth Avenue in Midtown vandalizing the Black Lives Matter mural outside Trump Tower. An officer was taken to the hospital after falling while trying to arrest Beatty. The two were eventually taken into custody, given desk appearance tickets, and released.
Hours later, they allegedly continued their spree overnight.
MORE: Black Lives Matter Mural In Front Of Trump Tower Vandalized, Again
In Harlem, the artists who collaborated on a mural just two weeks ago woke up to the news that their work had been violated.
"It really hurts. It just hurts," artist Lerone Wilson said.
Wilson said the mural was a work of art by the community for the community, and he's heartbroken.
"To have somebody intentionally come up here to do this, it really hurts. It hurts a lot," Wilson said.
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Artist Omo Misha said the mural can be fixed. She has other concerns about the women who allegedly did it.
"I don't understand how an officer is hurt in the process of trying to detain a person. Then hours later, that person is free to do it again all over the city," Misha said.
Shemeka Archie of Harlem watched late Saturday night as the vandalism took place. She said she was disappointed to see two black women go after the Black Lives Matter mural.
"It was sickening. It was sickening and it's sad," Archie said.
The artists told Caloway they absolutely will fix the mural. They could start as early as Monday. Whether it will continue to be vandalized is yet to be seen.
The NYPD said no arrests have been made in the Brooklyn or Harlem incidents and that the investigations are ongoing.
The Black Lives Matter mural in front of Trump Tower has been vandalized four times in less than one week.
