Multiple trees in downtown LA appear to have been senselessly knocked down in the late night by vandals along South Grand Avenue.
Residents in the area woke up Sunday to find that several trees scattered around Grand Hope Park had been mowed down illegally. Many of the cut trees fell onto the street and even obstructed some sidewalks
“I saw a tree on Olympic and Hope that was chopped in half, I thought it was you know, something that the city did,” said Media Moussavy, who was puzzled by the fallen trees. “As I’m walking around, I see a few other trees right above us on Grand, there were three across from Wells Fargo that were chopped down.
Moussavy posted a video of the trees on his social media and began to get messages of concern from his followers and people around the city.
“I started getting messages from everybody around the city that this was not a city job. Somebody obviously did this overnight from Friday to Saturday and it was, you know, it was very obviously a sinister act,” said Moussavy.
It’s unclear when exactly the trees were cut down.
In a post on social media, Councilwoman Ysabel Jurado, who represents the district affected, said her office was aware of the situation and was working with police to investigate.
“That someone would do this is truly beyond comprehension. City public works crews are assessing the damage and we will be making plans to quickly replace these damaged trees. LAPD has opened an investigation into what happened and those responsible must be held accountable,” wrote the LA mayor’s office.
The LAPD is asking anyone with information to call their Central Division. Those who would like to remain anonymous could leave a tip at 1-800-222-TIPS.
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