Holes punched into memorial to Key Bridge collapse victims
By Kim Dacey
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BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — A memorial created in honor of the six construction workers who died in the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse was vandalized over the weekend.
The memorial started as a pile of flowers and had grown organically, taking on a life of its own. But now, visitors are greeted with gaping holes in five of the panels.
“It’s very, very touching and I didn’t know that it was vandalized. I had no idea that somebody that cruel (and) heartless would do something like that,” said a visitor from Virginia who identified herself as Toni.
The memorial has steadily drawn visitors from around the region. On Saturday morning, artist Roberto Marquez discovered someone ripped holes in five of the seven panels.
“Maybe they wanted to do damage to the community, and maybe the migrants in general, and this is a way for them to display their hate,” Marquez told 11 News.
Marquez came from Texas to create the memorial. He called it a spiritual and emotional work of art, especially for the families of those who lost their lives.
Now, it’s irreparably damaged.
“I think it’s terrible,” said Jim Watts, a visitor. “These guys didn’t do anything wrong, just did their job, and for that, they paid with their lives. I think it’s terrible that somebody would vandalize it.”
Marquez said he’s suspending all work on the mural that he was hoping to finish before returning to Texas next week.
“If I continue, it’s probably going to be destroyed again because people, the ones that have hate, they’ll come back again,” he told 11 News.
He filed a police report, but doesn’t know that anyone will ever be held accountable.
The visitors want the families of the victims to know they are still paying them tribute.
“They served this country, and I’m thankful for what they did for this country, and I’m just praying for the family,” Toni said.
There is a second mural Marquez is working on for the victims that’s housed in a warehouse and was not damaged.
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