Man is caught on surveillance video knocking down candles and destroying memorial dedicated to slain Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen
A man was caught on surveillance video kicking and destroying a memorial dedicated to slain Fort Hood soldier Spc. Vanessa Guillen.
On Friday The League of United Latin American Citizens, the country’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization, shared shocking surveillance video of the vandalism on Facebook.
The clip, captured October 1 around 2.40am, shows a person dressed in dark clothing running through the memorial located in the parking lot of the Sick Made Tattoo Parlor outside Fort Hood’s East Gate in Killeen, Texas.
The incident was captured on the tattoo parlor’s security camera.
The video shows the man kicking candles, flowers, and memorabilia left at the site that were carefully shaped into a heart.
A man was caught on surveillance video kicking and destroying a memorial dedicated to slain Fort Hood soldier Spc. Vanessa Guillen on October 1 around 2.40am in Killeen, Texas
On Friday The League of United Latin American Citizens, the country’s oldest and largest Latino civil rights organization, shared shocking surveillance video of the vandalism on Facebook
Guillen, 20, disappeared from the base on April 22 after reporting she was sexually harassed by a superior, triggering a reckoning in the Army with how it handles sexual harassment cases
The vandal appears to be holding a canned drink in his hand.
He walks away from the memorial only to run back towards it to kick down more candles and momentos at least two more times before wandering off.
LULAC shared the video asking for the public help in identifying and arresting the vandal.
'I would ask that we focus on reminding the community that the mural is there to bring the community together and bring awareness to sexual assault, sexual harassment and its prevention,' Analuisa Tapia, LULAC district director said in a press release.
'Our community has already been damaged by the loss of one too many soldiers. We ask that we collectively take care of the mural as we honor our service members who live in that silent combat.'
According to KCEN, the site was cleaned up and the candles fixed hours after the vandalism occurred.
Surveillance video shows a man dressed in dark clothing running into and kicking candles, memorabilia and flowers that were shaped into a heart at the memorial on October 1
The man walked right through the carefully designed memorial and ran back at least two times to continue to knock down candles and momentos
Around 2.40am he walks away from the memorial and leaves it alone. Now the LULAC is asking for the public to help identify him so he can face charges
The memorial features a large mural painted by artist Cherine Mendoza in early July so that soldiers could see and remember Guillen every time they left the fort’s East Gate.
The Killeen Police Department is not aware of any response to the vandalism incident.
The destruction of Guillen’s memorial took place just hours after the day that would have been her 21st birthday.
Fort Hood came under scrutiny this year when Guillen, 20, disappeared in April after telling her family that she was sexually harassed at the base.
Her remains were found June 30 in a shallow grave, bringing a tragic end to the months-long search for her.
Officials named the main suspect in her disappearance as Spc. Aaron David Robinson.
Fort Hood came under scrutiny this year when Guillen, 20, disappeared in April after telling her family that she was sexually harassed at the base. Her remains were found June 30 in a shallow grave, bringing a tragic end to the months-long search for her
A view of the memorial that was vandalized pictured above during the day time
Robinson, 20, killed himself on July 1 after police confronted him in Killeen, according to the US Army Criminal Investigation Command.
Guillen’s family attorney Natalie Khawam said Guillen planned to file a harassment complaint against Robinson the day after she was killed and they believe Robinson became furious when she told him.
Fort Hood officials said in the past they were unaware of any sexual harassment reports involving Robinson, but there is an ongoing investigation.
Guillen's story led to a powerful sexual harassment reckoning within in the Army.
On September 16 a bipartisan bill called the 'I Am Vanessa Guillen Act' was introduced in Guillen’s memory. It will make sexual harassment a crime within the Uniform Code of Military Justice and move prosecution decisions about sexual harassment and assault out of the military chain of command.
Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, was reported missing after he was last seen on August 17 and his body found August 25. Fort Hood soldier, Pfc. Gregory Morales, right was reported missing from the base a year ago on August 20, 2019. The 24-year-old's remains were found on June 21 in a field in Killeen
Congress has launched an investigation into all 28 deaths at the Fort Hood base this year
At least 28 soldiers stationed at Fort Hood have died this year alone, officials said last month, triggering multiple investigations into the base's command, leadership and culture.
The 28 deaths include five homicides, as well as accidents, suicides, deaths related to illness, cases still under investigation and one combat-related death.
In September it was announced that Congress will launch an investigation into sexual assault, disappearances, deaths and the leadership's response at the base, citing the cases of Guillen and Pvt. Gregory Morales - who went missing in August 2019 and whose remains were found in June while searching for Guillen.
Pvt. Mejhor Morta and Sgt. Elder Fernandes, whose deaths are still under investigation, and the homicide investigations of Pvt. Brandon Scott Rosecrans, Spc. Freddy Delacruz Jr. and Spc. Shelby Tyler Jones will also be investigated.
Timeline of Fort Hood disappearances/deaths
February 1, 2020: PVT Eric Christopher Hogan and PFC Anthony Nevelle Peak Jr. die in a car crash
March 1, 2020: SPC Shelby Tyler Jones is shot dead at a convenience store in Killeen
March 5, 2020: Spc. Christopher Wayne Sawyer found dead at his home. Foul play is not suspected.
March 14, 2020: SPC Freddy Beningo Delacruz Jr. is killed in a triple murder
March 23, 2020: Fort Hood soldier Spc. Jovino Jamel Roy, 22, was charged with murder after allegedly shooting former Fort Hood soldier Michael Steven Wardrobe, 22
April 22, 2020: Vanessa Guillen goes missing and is last seen in the parking lot of the base. She disappeared after telling her family she was being sexually harassed by a sergeant on the base.
May 18, 2020: Body of Army Pfc. Brandon S. Rosecrans, 27, was discovered with gunshot wounds and his Jeep was found three miles away engulfed in flames.
June 19, 2020: Search teams discover the corpse of missing soldier Pvt. Gregory Wedel-Morales following a tip to Army base investigators. Remains were found in a field in Killeen, just over 10 miles from Stillhouse Hollow Lake, five miles from Fort Hood.
July 1, 2020: First parts of Giullen's remains found about 20 miles east of Fort Hood.
Spc. Aaron Robinson, 20, kills himself. Officials say he killed and dismembered Guillén and had the remains disposed of.
July 2, 2020: Army Specialist Miguel Yazzie, 33, died on July 2; Yazzie, of Window Rock, Arizona, was hospitalized for a medical condition the day before he died.
July 17, 2020: Pvt. Mejhor Morta, 26, of Pensacola, Florida was found dead July 17 in the vicinity of Stillhouse Hollow Lake, around 15 miles from the Fort Hood base.
August 2, 2020: The body of Spc. Francisco Gilberto Hernandezvargas, 24, is recovered from Stillhouse Hollow Lake following boating incident not far from where Morta was found.
August 12, 2020: Spc. Cole Jakob Aton, 22, of Kentucky died after he was hit by a car as he was assisting a minor accident scene
August 13, 2020: National Guard soldier, Sgt Bradley Moore dies during a training exercise at the base
August 19, 2020: Sgt. Elder Fernandes, 23, is reported missing after he was last seen on August 17.
August 25, 2020: The body of Fernandes is believed to have been found about 30 miles from Fort Hood
August 28, 2020: Pvt. Corlton L. Chee, 25, collapsed during fitness training at Fort Hood on August 28. He died two days later.
