Banksy Work Stolen from London Street, Witnesses Say
London police announced on Saturday that they are investigating the alleged theft of a Banksy artwork. Witnesses were able to film photos and videos of a man removing a red stop sign adorned with three military drones, right before the sign was stolen.
The incident happened less than an hour after the street artist posted a photo of the work on his Instagram page on Friday. A man with bolt cutters was caught on video riding a bicycle to take the work from a signpost on a street corner in the Peckham area of south London. Another man also helped with the theft by stabilizing the bicycle as the thief fled with the sign in hand.
In a video of the incident, a voice can be heard saying: “It makes me so angry,” while the man runs away.
A witness, identified only as Alex, told the PA news agency that a small crowd of people watching the vandalism scene. “We were all a little perplexed; we heard some car horns,” Alex said.
The Metropolitan Police have asked for help from anyone with information about the reported incident, but no arrests have been made so far.
Jasmine Ali, vice president of the municipal council, said that the stop sign was ultimately replaced and added, “It should not have been removed and we would like it to be returned so that the entire community can enjoy Banksy’s brilliant work.”
Banksy’s art often points to war, and many of her followers on Instagram interpreted the stolen work as a call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.