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Madre Luz statue toppled, damaged in Wyman Park Dell

Posted at 11:35 PM, Aug 17, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-17 23:35:34-04

Someone knocked over the Madre Luz statue in Wyman Park Dell, according to Baltimore Police. A handful of people gathered to take pictures of the crumbled piece of art.

A day earlier, protestors hoisted it onto the platform where the General Lee-Stonewall Jackson monument used to stand. Many aren't surprised that it's now on the ground.

"People are just looking for symbolic gestures of their anger. If you keep putting stuff up, someone's going to get angry at it," says Tom Pisanic of Baltimore.

Jennifer Ogunsola came to the site on Art Museum Drive to see the Madre Luz.

"She looks like a woman, a black woman," she says. "I think that's symbolic of how black people feel in this country. It's like we're always knocked down."

The Madre Luz, depicting a pregnant woman, was placed at the site 2 years ago to oppose the Lee-Jackson statue. The Lee-Jackson was taken down early Wednesday morning by Baltimore City, along with 3 other confederate monuments in the city.

Farzin Kurmani immigrated from Iran in 2006 and says what's going on around the country is starting to remind him of the Middle East. He says politicians need to act fast before there's more violence.

"They can easily calm everything down. Both parties can come together and talk about what is right and what is not right. They are not doing it," he says.

The creator of the statue, artist Pablo Machioli, stood at the base of the statue Thursday after it had been toppled. He declined to speak on camera, and says the reaction of other people is what's really important.

Baltimore Police say the person who toppled the Madre Luz was wearing khaki shorts and a blue shirt. So far, they have no identified that suspect.