A statue of Christopher Columbus in New York City is defiled with red paint and marked as a “killer” in Central Park.

A statue of Christopher Columbus has been vandalized in New York.

In a picture taken on Monday morning, the statue of Columbus in Central Park is covered in red paint. The messages “killer” and “land back” were marked on his pedestal.

On Monday morning, Fox News Digital reported that Central Park Police had confirmed that the incident was under investigation, but said there was no further information at this time.

The statue, located in the southern part of the Central Park mall, was surrounded by metal barricades on Monday. It is unclear if any suspects have been identified or if any arrests have been made.

STATUE OF COLUMBUS IN PHILADELPHIA DISCOVERED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO YEARS

A statue of Christopher Columbus in New York's Central Park is seen after it was defaced, Monday, February 27, 2023.

A statue of Christopher Columbus in New York’s Central Park is seen after it was defaced, Monday, February 27, 2023. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

According to the NYC Parks website, the bronze and polished granite statue of Rockport was dedicated on May 12, 1892.

New Yorkers from the New York Genealogical Society commissioned Spanish sculptor Jeronimo Sunol.

The statue was donated to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage and discovery of the new world.

The statue of Christopher Columbus in Central Park was spray-painted with the words "Killer" and "Land on".

The statue of Christopher Columbus in Central Park was spray-painted with the words “Killer” and “Land on”. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

Following the death of George Floyd, statues of Columbus as well as Confederate leaders and other monuments were torn down or destroyed by social justice protesters. Some local governments have removed the statues to avoid further controversy as activists pushed for the transformation of October’s Columbus Day into Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

They claim that the arrival of Columbus in the Americas led to a massive genocide.

The base of the statue of Christopher Columbus in Central Park was painted red.

The base of the statue of Christopher Columbus in Central Park was painted red. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

Statues of Columbus and the Confederacy were also vandalized after a deadly rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, but riots have taken on a larger national scale in 2020.

In April 1492, King Ferdinand V and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to sponsor Columbus’ proposed voyage. On August 3, 1492, three modest ships: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria set sail. They saw land on October 12, 1492, landing on Guanahani, an island in the Bahamas. Columbus declared the land king of Spain, renaming it San Salvador.

A statue of Christopher Columbus has been vandalized in Central Park.

A statue of Christopher Columbus has been vandalized in Central Park. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

Believing that he had reached the West Indies, Columbus called the natives “los indios”, or Indians. The expedition members returned to Spain in triumph on March 15, 1493. Having received a title of nobility, Columbus undertook a larger expedition. On November 3, 1493, a fleet of 17 ships anchored near present-day Puerto Rico.

His third and fourth voyages took place in 1498 and 1502, according to the Central Park statue’s description on the NYC Parks website.

Central Park Police are investigating the desecration of a statue of Christopher Columbus.

Central Park Police are investigating the desecration of a statue of Christopher Columbus. (Jennifer Mitchell for Fox News Digital)

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“Later, as Americans searched for founding heroes in the early years of the Republic, authors such as Washington Irving’s The Life and Travels of Christopher Columbus (1828) documented the story of Columbus,” the city government website says. “By focusing mainly on his arrival in the Americas rather than colonizing the area, Irving and others celebrated Columbus as a hero. His popular reputation has since become that of a bold, daring adventurer who contributed to American civilization, and he is immortalized here. and so on”.

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