Uptown Charlotte 'Black Lives Matter' street mural defaced with tire marks; police investigating

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are reviewing surveillance cameras trying to figure out who defaced a "Black Lives Matter" mural painted in the heart of uptown.

Work on the mural started Tuesday morning. The city said 17 artists were involved on the project between 3rd and 4th streets.

The city paid the artists $500 per letter and compensated them for the supplies.

On Friday afternoon, the mural was smeared by tire tracks right before the city closed the road to enable people to come and take photos.

The marks span the entire length of the South Tryon Street mural.

Demonstrators marched Friday night calling for criminal justice reform and stopped at the mural.

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"It was sad to see, you could tell it was intentionally done and it bothers us," said Mario Black.

However, no act of vandalism would dampen the protesters' spirits.

"United we stand, divided we fall. We're united so we're gonna continue to stand," Black said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said they are not sure who did it, but are investigating the incident.

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