A memorial honoring the six victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore was vandalized over the weekend.
An elaborate display near the south end of the bridge has grown to include an ornamented wooden cross and a red pickup truck hanging from the branches of a nearby tree, representing one of the work vehicles used by the six construction workers who were filling the hole in the bridge on the night of the disaster.
An artist helping create the memorial arrived at the site Saturday morning to find a large hole in the recently installed canvas, and Roberto Marquez told The Baltimore Sun that he had reported the vandalism to police.
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A Baltimore police spokesman said officers responded to the scene Saturday evening after receiving a report of property damage. Authorities said no suspects have been identified.
A gaping hole is seen in the canvas of the memorial to victims of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, Monday, June 3, 2024. The memorial was vandalized over the weekend. Police said they responded to the scene early Saturday after receiving a call about the damaged building. (AP Photo/Lee Skene)
Marquez traveled from Texas to Baltimore to help create the installation, which was created on the grassy area of the intersection.
The victims, all Latino migrants who had come to the United States from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras in pursuit of the American Dream, fell to their deaths after the container ship lost power and struck a bridge pillar in the early hours of March 26.
In the aftermath of the tragedy, Marquez and others sought to highlight the human toll and draw attention to the plight of grieving families amid debate about the economic impact and supply chain disruptions of the temporary closure of Baltimore’s busy port.
The destroyed mural was the second backdrop that Marquez has installed since the memorial began to take shape.
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The original mural depicted abstract scenes related to the bridge collapse and its aftermath, including messages from the victims’ families and violent scenes from the southern US border, where armed police stand in a line battling desperate migrants. Local media reports said the mural was moved to storage last week and may eventually end up in a museum in Baltimore.
