Less than 48 hours after statues of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky were unveiled in his hometown of Brantford, the monument was the target of vandals.
Brantford Police say the two statues, which sit outside the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre on North Park Street, were spray-painted by unknown suspects sometime between 11:30 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. Tuesday.
The blue spray paint was discovered and quickly cleaned up, but the vandalism prompted equally quick outrage across the community and beyond.
“Gretzky fan or not, defacing his statue is disgraceful and disrespectful to a family that has brought so much good to Brantford and area,” Jason Harnett tweeted.
“Saddens me that the Wayne Gretzky statue was already vandalized,” added Scott Goodburn via Twitter.
Beyond the social media sphere, similar emotions were felt by employees at the arena.
“This was really immensely disappointing for everyone here,” says Sandy Jackson, the city’s director of recreation.
“We’re hopeful that this is just an isolated thing and the police are going to catch whoever is responsible for this.”
One of the two statues shows Gretzky holding the Stanley Cup, while the other depicts him as a child with his parents.
“Strangely enough, (the spray paint) was just on the Wayne statue – not on the parents,” says Insp. Scott Easto.
Police say they have no suspects.
“It’s troubling when an icon of our city is being defaced like that,” Easto says.
Neighbouring North Park Collegiate was also hit by blue spray paint.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-756-0113 ext. 2262.
