Someone defaced the 9/11 memorial — and New Yorkers are furious over the desecration

The 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero has been sprayed with graffiti, and now a man is facing charges.

Johnathan Tijerina, 31, was arrested on criminal mischief and graffiti charges in connection with the words spray-painted on the memorial Monday evening.

Look:

A teen from the UK who saw the whole thing told CBS News New York what he had witnessed.

“I saw somebody with red spray paint, and they sprayed ‘just stop killing kids’ over some of the names. And then within, like, less than a minute, the police came and arrested him,” said 16-year-old Ed Duffy.

“The 9/11 Memorial is a sacred place of reflection at the heart of a rebuilt World Trade Center that honors the 2,983 victims killed in the September 11, 2001, and February 26, 1993, terrorist attacks. Yesterday’s brief incident was swiftly addressed by security staff and law enforcement, and the impacted area was immediately restored to its commemorative state,” said a 9/11 Memorial & Museum spokesperson

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Thankfully, the site was able to be cleaned and has not sustained any permanent damage from the vandalism.

X users were disgusted:

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Sierra Marlee

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