35-year-old Christopher Jaros was arrested on Tuesday evening after he destroyed the Angel of Harmony statue with a boom lift outside of the St. Louis Basilica in Missouri.
The man then fled on foot and fired a shot into an unoccupied car.
We believe the suspect also fired a shot into an unoccupied car. Investigators reviewed video surveillance and identified a suspect. Detectives spotted the man as they searched the Central West End but he took off running.
— St. Louis, MO Police (@SLMPD) September 18, 2024
“The Angel of Harmony has graced the grounds of our city’s Cathedral Basilica since 1999, as a joyful reminder that our diversity is something to be celebrated, that truth, beauty and goodness unite us all. We need to be reminded of that daily. We are still learning about the extent of the damage, with great hope that this special sculpture can be restored,” said Archbishop of St. Louis Mitchell Rozanski in a statement.
KSDK reported:
According to a post from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Angel of Harmony statue was knocked off its base by a boom lift.
Officers were called to the Cathedral Basilica at about 8 p.m., where they found the statue damaged and an unoccupied vehicle with a bullet hole. After reviewing the security video, they identified a suspect and began searching for him.
Police said officers spotted the man in the Central West End, but he ran off. The post said officers surrounded the area and used a police dog to track the suspect down near the intersection of Euclid and Maryland avenues.
The 35-year-old man was taken into custody. Police said they also believe the man was the one who fired the shot at an unoccupied car.
Security video from the intersection showed a shirtless man evading multiple officers before tripping and falling to the ground. The officers then surrounded him and took him into custody.
FOX 2 took a video from the Basilica Garden.
The post St. Louis Man Arrested After Destroying Angel of Harmony Statue at the St. Louis Basilica with a Boom Lift appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.