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17-year-old boy arrested after the George Floyd mural was defaced with racist graffiti
It’s the third time it’s been defaced
A 17-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage to the George Floyd mural in the Northern Quarter.
The tribute to George Floyd in Stevenson Square was painted by artist Akse P19 following the killing of Mr Floyd in May 2020.
The artwork was vandalised with a racist word on Friday morning for the third time since the painting was completed.
The suspect was seen doing the act on CCTV and police are now holding him on suspicion of racially aggravated criminal damage.
It comes just a matter of weeks after the last vandalising of the artwork.
Mr Floyd was killed by a white police officer who knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
His face became an icon of the resurgence of the Black Live Matter campaign across the globe.
Speaking on the last incident of defacing, Councillor Jon-Connor Lyons said: “Racism has no place in Manchester, we will not tolerate it and the Council will repair the memorial working with the artist.
“We’ll be working to review CCTV footage and any leads will be followed to find the culprit.
“Manchester is an inclusive, welcoming city with people from across the globe [and] this does not represent Manchester or Mancunians.
“Whoever did this has achieved nothing.”