July 27, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Crazy man breaks into Dallas museum and destroys $5 million ancient Greek pottery


Priceless ancient Greek artifacts are destroyed by a 21-year-old man who broke into an art museum in Dallas (USA) after an argument with his girlfriend.

Brian Hernandez was arrested by security guards during his Wednesday night mayhem at the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas. He later told the police that he decided to destroy the priceless ancient work of art because he was “pissed off at his girlfriend.”

Priceless ancient Greek vessels destroyed

Hernandez destroyed at least three ancient Greek works of art that are over 2,500 years old. He also destroyed a contemporary Native American work, a 540 BC Greek bowl, a computer, the museum’s glass front door, and… the chair he used to do it all. The preliminary damage estimate is $5,153,000.

The rampage began around 9:40 p.m. Wednesday night, when Hernandez smashed the museum’s glass front door with a metal chair. According to police, CCTV footage shows Hernandez using a chair to smash two glass cabinets and two ancient objects inside – a 6th-century BC Greek amphora and a vase dating back to 450 BC. Together, the two items cost about $5 million.

According to police, he also smashed a display case and destroyed a Hercules and Nemean Lion cup worth about $100,000. He then took a $10,000 contemporary American Indian ceramic replica and threw it on the floor, breaking it into pieces. “The items in the display cases that were destroyed are rare antique items that are extremely valuable and unique,” ​​police said. In addition to the destroyed items, Erandez caused damage to the phone, computer and bench, which, against the background of what he had done earlier, is mere trifles.

“He got mad at his girlfriend”
A security guard found Hernandez in the museum’s main hall after activating a motion detection sensor. When the guard asked him what he was doing, he replied that he was “angry with his girlfriend, so he entered the museum and started destroying property.” Museum director Agustín Arteja said yesterday that the museum is working with insurers to assess damages and that it could be lower than the original $5 million.

Hernandez was detained by museum guards and subsequently arrested. He was charged with premeditated damage on an especially large scale. A lover of broken antiquities faces up to 5 years in prison.



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