KALAMAZOO, Mich. — It seems someone angry about Kalamazoo’s controversial Fountain of the Pioneers took matters into their own hands, defacing it with what appeared to be red paint.
The fountain in Bronson Park depicts an early white settler with a weapon in hand standing before a kneeling Native American.
Someone doused the settler figure with red paint. A fake tomahawk made of cardboard that also had red paint on it was thrust into the top of the fountain.
“Our parks staff was down in the park this morning just finishing up the last few things that we had for tree lighting along with our forestry department and noticed the defacing of the statue,” said Patrick McVerry, the deputy director of Kalamazoo Parks and Recreation. “It was unfortunate to see that this morning but we worked as best we could to clean up before this evening’s festivities.”
Kalamazoo public safety officers worked to clean up the vandalism Friday, using a fire hose to try to wash the paint away. Police are investigating.
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