14 DAY TRIAL // This Tuesday, folks in New York City, US, woke up to find that, overnight, the two flags adorning Brooklyn Bridge's towers had been replaces by white ones. Authorities were immediately alerted, and the incident was labeled an act of vandalism.
For the time being, police officers are in the dark as far as the identity of the people who replaced the bridge's iconic flags is concerned. However, an investigation is ongoing, and they expect the culprits will soon be identified.
By the looks of it, the folks who redecorated Brooklyn Bridge did not act in the spur of the moment. On the contrary, evidence indicates that they took their time to plan this crime before actually committing it.
New York Daily News tells us that, when they arrived at the bridge, they brought aluminum roasting pans with them. The pans served to cover the floodlights illuminating the original flags. This allowed the vandals to go about their business unhindered.
Apparently, it was about 3.30 in the morning when the floodlights on the Brooklyn side tower went dark. About 30 minutes later, the same happened with the Manhattan tower. Hence, it is believed that more than one person was involved.
Despite the fact that several cameras are installed on Brooklyn Bridge and the structure is constantly being monitored by police crews, it was only early in the morning, after sunrise, that construction workers in the area figured out that something was off.
Having arrived at the scene, police officers removed the new flags and found them to be regular American ones that had been bleached white. Luckily, no traces of explosives were found anywhere on or near Brooklyn Bridge's towers.
Talking to the press, John Miller with the NYPD wishes to reassure that whoever committed this act of vandalism will be punished accordingly. “To be clear, we’re certainly concerned about it,” John Miller reportedly comments on this incident in a statement.
“Aren’t there security cameras everywhere? How did no one see this? This bridge is the key to our city. That shouldn’t have happened,” adds 29-year-old Francisco Correa, who now lives in Brooklyn and who wasn't exactly thrilled to learn that the iconic bridge had been vandalized.
As noticeable in the photo above, Brooklyn Bridge's two towers are fairly high. In fact, each of them stands about 276 feet (approximately 84 meters) tall. Consequently, police officers in charge of handling this case suspect that whoever was behind this prank must have some experience as a climber.