Man Arrested for Spray-Painting Over Names at the 9/11 Memorial

A man identified as Johnathan Tijerina, 31, was arrested after allegedly spray-painting a gun-control slogan over some of the names engraved on the 9/11 Memorial's reflecting pools in Lower Manhattan. Police said Tijerina carried out the vandalism to promote his gun-control advocacy website, and was apprehended in under a minute after the act. He was charged with criminal mischief and making graffiti. Officials confirmed the paint was subsequently cleaned from the memorial with no permanent damage to the inscribed names. The incident drew swift condemnation from officials and the public, who called the defacement of a site bearing the names of nearly 3,000 victims deeply disrespectful regardless of the message's intent.