Shiala Mahmood
A 21-year-old man has been arrested after he broke into Dallas Museum of Art and destroyed $5 million worth of ancient artefacts because he was 'mad at his girl'.
On Wednesday (1 June), 21-year-old Brian Hernandez evaded museum security and destroyed a number of Ancient Greek artefacts before being arrested by Dallas Police.
Hernandez confessed to destroying a 6th century B.C vase, a 450 B.C pot and a 550-530 B.C bowl, as well as shattering a Caddo bottle and damaging furniture.
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Police have confirmed that Hernandez used a metal chair to smash the museum's glass entrance at 9:40pm and then used a stool to destroy the irreplaceable art pieces.
He was arrested shortly after leaving the scene and taken into custody. Hernandez has since been charged with criminal mischief greater than $300,000.
Museum Director Agustín Arteaga released a statement on Thursday that the museum's insurers are currently assessing the cost of the damage. He said: "We anticipate the real total could be a fraction of the original $5 million estimate."
Surveillance footage has shown that Hernandez smashed a pair of pots that are valued at $5 million together. During his outburst, he also shattered a Native American ceramic effigy worth $10,000.
Dallas Police confirmed the damage and said: "The items inside of the display cases that were destroyed are rare ancient artefacts that are extremely precious and one of a kind."
The security guard who discovered Hernandez at the scene of the crime told police that he asked him why he caused the damage, to which Hernandez replied that he was 'mad at his girl'.
The museum has confirmed that the alleged 'girl' Hernandez was mad at is not an employee of the museum.
Artega said: "We don't have any connection that we know of, or that person, related to the DMA."
It is believed that the man was just acting out, and Arteaga added: "It was someone that seemed to be angry, and his purpose was to get his anger exercised with the smashing, anything that he could find of glass."
Despite the damage, the museum was still open to the public on Thursday with certain areas closed off. Visitors were upset to learn what had happened and shared their disappointment.
One visitor, Amail Beimenec, said: "Honestly, it’s really saddening. I am a big fan of the DMA, it has such historical art. It’s a tragic event to the whole Dallas community and we hope they can recover."
Artega has said that the museum has never suffered any real damage until now.
He said: "This is something that we've seen recently on a different level, you know, the Mona Lisa being attacked at the Louvre. But we have a marvellous record of 120 years when we never suffer any kind of situation like this."