The Hillsborough County sheriff's Office says someone splashed red paint around the Confederate Memorial Park, just outside Tampa.
Debbie Carter, a public information officer for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, said that a passer-by called 911 after seeing that paint had been tossed on and around the memorial's columns and derogatory comments - including the f-word - were scrawled in paint. The site is on private property near the intersection of Interstates 4 and 75.
Carter said they’re asking for the public's help to identify the vandal.
“At this point it's been written up as a criminal mischief - graffiti - and that is a misdemeanor,” Carter said.
Carter said there's no way at the moment to determine if the vandalism is linked to Sunday night's local protests against the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Other Confederate memorials in the area have been targeted as well.
Hillsborough County commissioners voted on July 19 to remove a different monument in the county, this one in downtown Tampa and on county property, after several heated meetings filled with public discussion.
On Wednesday, the commission is scheduled to discuss the monument again with an update on the relocation.
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