A new work by Banksy appears to have been stolen in broad daylight.
The anonymous UK street artist’s latest work that features three military drones over a stop sign was stolen by two unmasked men less than an hour after it was unveiled on his social media, according to the New York Post.
Footage emerged online of two unidentified men using bolt cutters to break the artwork off of a traffic pole in south London on Friday afternoon. One of the men stood on top of a rental bicycle to reach the sign while the other man held the bike in place for him.
“This guy comes up and grabs it, we watched in awe as he bashed it. He put the Lime bike under the sign, stood on the Lime bike, and tried to hit the sign, he hit it with his hands and it wasn’t going anywhere,” said witness Alex to the Evening Standard. “He fell off the Lime bike at one point. He disappeared and went away and about two minutes later he reappeared with bolt cutters and just sort of tried and tried and tried while everyone was watching.”
Alex continued, “He ripped it off and ran across the road and ran away. He said nothing. He didn’t seem to care that much about the art itself.”