A lightning strike knocked down a George Floyd mural in Toledo, Ohio, on Tuesday, according to city firefighters. The piece had been painted on the side of a closed bar, according to The Blade of Toledo.
George Floyd mural vandalized by lightning
The Toledo Fire and Rescue Department officially attributed the destruction to lightning, based on witness accounts and an investigation of the scene.
However, the city’s building inspector, Hugh Koogan, has refuted the report, saying the wall had shown signs of weakness for some time and probably gave way on its own.
“It just came loose,” Koogan told the Blade. Artist David Ross, who painted the mural, says he believes it was destroyed by an act of God or vandalism.
“When I did the mural, there were things on the wall that I couldn’t remove and that let me know how strong that structure was,” Ross said.
“The lightning thing is possible, but I know it didn’t just fall.”
— Kaitlin Durbin (@njKaitlinDurbin) July 13, 2021
A lightning strike knocked down a George Floyd mural in Toledo, Ohio, on Tuesday, according to city firefighters. The piece had been painted on the side of a closed bar, according to The Blade of Toledo.
Floyd was killed last year while being arrested for allegedly using counterfeit money at a Minneapolis store.
His killer, who was former police officer Derek Chauvin, was convicted of murder and will serve 22.5 years in prison.
Cities and municipalities have erected a series of statues, murals and monuments in Floyd’s memory since his death sparked a wave of protests and riots in the United States.
