Police have released security images of three men believed to have tagged the CTV building memorial site in Christchurch, in the hope someone can identify them.
One-hundred-and-fifteen people died when the building, on Madras St, collapsed in the February 2012 earthquake. A memorial erected at the site was tagged by vandals on the night of August 3.
"The vandalism of these sites is extremely distressing for the families of those who died and for the wider community," Senior Sergeant Phil Dean says.
Police have so far been unable to make any arrests. However, yesterday were given access to security footage taken on the night the tagging occurred.
The footage, provided by a café in the area, shows three men walking around the central city between 11pm and 11:30pm.
Senior Sergeant Phil Dean says the group's movements match the locations of several tags that were left in the city that night. In one frame, a man appears to be tagging a set of traffic barriers.
"The fact that such a number of sites were tagged around the same time suggests that these were opportunistic incidents and that the CTV and other memorial sites may not necessarily have been deliberately targeted," Snr Sgt Dean says.
Christchurch police are asking anyone who recognises any of the men to contact them on (03) 3637580 or anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
3 News
source: newshub archive
