A Toledo, Ohio, memorial to George Floyd was reportedly destroyed Tuesday, according to local police and media reports.
The building where the mural was attached to the side is still structurally sound after damage to the mural, according to local news reports. While lightning is suspected, the official cause is not known.
Toledo city building inspector Hugh Koogan told the Toledo Blade the damage appeared to be a result of natural deterioration and dismissed claims of rainy weather and storms as the reason.
Artist David Ross told the Blade he is skeptical of the true cause of destruction, saying lightning was “possible, but I know it didn’t just fall.”
The mural dedicated to Floyd, whose death at the hands of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin sparked protests across the country, was created by Ross last summer. Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter and was sentenced in June to 22.5 years in prison.
Local news station 13abc reported its Dopplar radar showed a lightning strike on the block with the mural around the time of the destruction Tuesday.
The City of Toledo released a statement from Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, who said the mural will be replaced.
“We may never know for certainty why the George Floyd mural came down. It could have been an act of nature, or it could have been an act of vandalism,” Kapszukiewicz said in the statement. “We will work with the Arts Commission and the artist to make sure that a new mural can replace the old, so that the message at the core of this artwork can be heard.”