Teen Busted For Vandalizing Central Park Monument: Police

CENTRAL PARK, NY — A teenage vandal who spray-painted a Central Park monument on Monday night was arrested and charged Thursday, officials said.

The 16-year-old was charged with criminal mischief and making graffiti after vandalizing the General William Tecumseh Sherman monument, situated on the north side of Grand Army Plaza near East 60th Street, police said.

The Central Park monument honors General William Tecumseh Sherman, a Union Army general, and was first unveiled to the public in 1903.

The teen was part of a group of protesters that fled the scene in an unknown direction, according to police.

Authorities reported that the same group of protesters also perpetrated vandalism at the One Hundred Seventh Infantry Memorial located at the intersection of Fifth Ave. and E. 67th St.

The One Hundred Seventh Infantry Memorial pays tribute to the fallen soldiers of World War I in the infantry.

"The despicable vandalism we saw earlier this week on the WWI Memorial will not be ignored, and will not go unpunished," NYPD Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said on Thursday. "One of the culprits was placed in handcuffs today thanks to the World’s Greatest Detectives. This isn’t simply juvenile hijinks- it’s an act of desecration that undermines the freedoms our heroes fought and died for."

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).