A mural in Toledo, Ohio, honoring the late George Floyd collapsed after it was struck by lightning, according to witnesses who saw the event and multiple reports.
Photos posted on Twitter show the mural’s remains reduced to rubble. The mural was initially painted following Floyd’s death in 2020.
According to WTVG, Toledo Police said witnesses reported lightning had struck a building at around 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. 13abc’s doppler radar, a device used to monitor the weather, picked up a lightning strike in the area at the time.
Toledo Police were spotted outside the building, which used to be home to a bar, setting up tape around the rubble and pile of bricks that once formed the mural.
The mural was painted in July 2020, nearly one year to the date it collapsed.
Since the mural was erected, groups have held memorial services in memory of Floyd in front of the mural, including on the one-year anniversary of his death at the hands of former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin.
Chauvin was later sentenced to 22.5 years in prison on murder charges.
A City of Toledo building inspector deemed the building to be structurally sound, according to WTVG.
The building’s owner is looking to tear down the rest of the mural wall and clean up the residual bricks in place.
The City of Toledo said in a statement that it would work with the city’s arts commission on plans for a new mural or assist the commission and the artist on finding a new location for the mural.
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