A teenager who allegedly helped vandalize a World War I memorial in Central Park earlier this week was turned in to the police by his father on Thursday night and charged with multiple crimes.

The New York Post reported that a 16-year-old anti-Israel protester has been charged with third-degree criminal mischief, a felony, and making graffiti, a misdemeanor. The charges stem from allegations that he spray-painted “Gaza” on a memorial dedicated to Americans who fought in World War I. NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry shared a blurred photo of the teenager in handcuffs, taken after his father turned him in.

“The despicable vandalism we saw earlier this week on the WWI Memorial will not be ignored, and will not go unpunished,” Daughtry wrote. “One of the culprits was placed in handcuffs today thanks to the World’s Greatest Detectives. This isn’t simply juvenile hijinks- it’s an act of desecration that undermines the freedoms our heroes fought and died for.”

The despicable vandalism we saw earlier this week on the WWI Memorial will not be ignored, and will not go unpunished. One of the culprits was placed in handcuffs today thanks to the World’s Greatest Detectives. This isn’t simply juvenile hijinks- it’s an act of desecration that… pic.twitter.com/2R8uzssIqD

— NYPD Deputy Commissioner, Operations Kaz Daughtry (@NYPDDaughtry) May 10, 2024

Police sources report that the suspect is a 16-year-old attending Tottenville High School on Staten Island, with no prior arrests.

During the “Day of Rage” protests on Holocaust Remembrance Day, approximately 1,000 demonstrators, who were expressing anti-America and anti-Israel sentiments, convened around the World War I memorial in Central Park. In the course of the organized demonstration, an American flag was set on fire at the base of the memorial. Additionally, some protesters slapped stickers on the depiction of American soldiers on the memorial, bearing the message “Stop the Genocide. End the apartheid. Free Palestine.”

Video footage capturing protesters defacing the memorial and burning an American flag revealed an absence of police at the site. Many NYPD officers were instead assigned to protect the Metropolitan Museum of Art during the Met Gala, where A-list celebrities were present. This deployment aimed to prevent anti-Israel protesters from approaching the event, which also took place on Monday night.