Hours after a 9/11 ceremony in Springfield, Massachusetts Wednesday, a man was arrested for allegedly vandalizing the city’s 9/11 monument.
Springfield police said the words “Liars” and “911 Scam” were scratched into a rear panel of the monument.
The vandalism was discovered last weekend. 59-year-old James Carroll of Springfield was arrested Wednesday night.
Acting Police Commissioner Cheryl Clapprood said a suspect was identified by detectives after crime analysts reviewed a hundred hours of video from surveillance cameras.
"We weren't going to rest until we found out who did it, and we did," Clapprood said at a news conference Thursday at Springfield Police Headquarters.
The damage was hidden from public view during the 9/11 ceremony by a row of American flags.
The monument, dedicated earlier this year, features an I-beam from the World Trade Center and a curved wall with the names of first responders who died.
No estimate has been made on what it will cost to repair the damage, according to Judy Matt, president of Spirit of Springfield, the nonprofit that secured the 9/11 artifact. commissioned the design, and raised funds to create the monument.
