Early Sunday morning shortly before 6 a.m., News5's news crew noticed red paint on the Christopher Columbus statue in downtown Pueblo. Police officers had just arrived on scene and were shining their flashlights to investigate what happened, and they confirmed they received reports the statue had been tagged.

For the next couple of hours, Pueblo Fire Department worked diligently to hose down the statue and clean up any remnants of the paint and the debris at the base. Crews using pressure cleaners were also working on removing the last remnants of paint late Sunday morning.