According to police, a Dallas man smashed through an art gallery because he was angry at his girlfriend.
Dallas Police announced Friday that Brian Hernandez entered the Dallas Art Museum around 9:45pm Wednesday and destroyed $5.2 million in artifacts. He did this because he was angry with his girlfriend. Hernandez was charged with criminal mischief exceeding or equal to $300,000.
The 21-year-old readily confessed to his crime when interviewed by police, admitting he had been “Mad at [his]A girl broke into a house and began to demolish property.” He didn’t explain why he chose the art museum as the target for his rage.
On security camera footage, Hernandez can be seen punching display boxes and breaking their contents. This included a sixth century Greek amphora as well as a fifth-century BC red figure pyxis pottery. The kylix, a wine vessel depicting Heracles killing the Nemean Lion was worth approximately $100,000. A contemporary bottle that looked like the Batah Kuhuh Alligator Gar fish, along with a Caddo effigy ceramic bottle and a 6th-century BC bowl, were also destroyed. Each item is worth around $110,000.
Hernandez also broke valuable artifacts like a phone, monitor and laptop as well as four plexiglas display case cases and two wooden signs.
Hernandez broke into the museum using a metal chair and managed to escape security guards. Hernandez used a stand made of hand soap to break at least one display case, before grabbing the bottle with the fish-shaped cap inside and smashing it onto the ground.
The museum released a statement on Friday confirming that the break-in was “This was an isolated act of one person, who did not intend to steal art or other objects. Some works of art, however, were damaged and we’re still assessing their extent..”
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“We are still devastated by the incident but we’re grateful no one was hurt.,” the museum concluded.
A representative from the museum elaborated that “He was angry and wanted to vent his frustrations by smashing any glass he could find..”
Hernandez’s bail has been set at $100,000.
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