crime

Jenni Rivera Mural Vandalized in Long Beach

Security cameras caught vandals spray-painting the mural Wednesday.

Vandals were caught on camera spray-painting a mural recently unveiled at a Long Beach park in honor of the late singer Jenni Rivera, police said Thursday.

Private surveillance cameras situated above the mural caught the culprits spray-painting the 125-foot-long wall, according to the Long Beach Police Department.

Though the graffiti was removed by the city Thursday, a Long Beach resident captured video of the blue paint that was sprayed over Rivera's face in two separate portraits in the mural Wednesday.

"This young lady, all she did was give back," Councilman Dee Andrews said. "And when we come and see something like this, it really boggles my mind."

The mural, painted by Rivera’s son, was unveiled at the park's July 2 dedication ceremony, which was attended by Rivera’s family and Long Beach city leaders.

Rivera, known to many fans as the "Diva de la Banda" for the style of Mexican-American music she performed, died in December 2012 when her plane crashed in the mountains of Northern Mexico.

Countless fans have come to pay tribute to Rivera since the park was opened, including Susan Tunon, who extended her vacation in the area just to visit the mural.

"She was such a strong woman that helped everybody," Tunon said. "That somebody would vandalize it and do something like that, she's not alive anymore, at least not physically, and that someone would go out of their way to do that, it’s just terrible."

No suspect descriptions were released Thursday, but police said video of the vandalism would be made available to the public if necessary.

City officials said they plan to install cameras and more lighting in the park to help prevent this type of incident from happening again.

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