A Utica resident is offering a reward for information leading to a suspect that vandalized the Christopher Columbus state in Utica overnight, according to a report from WKTV. The word "killer" was written across the statue in red spray-paint. Vincent Scalise, executive director of the Central New York Veteran's Outreach Center, is offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction. Scalise also offered to help the city clean the statue.

Utica Police say that the person responsible will face criminal mischief charges. Over the summer, two competing petitions were created calling to remove and keep the statue. Scalise started the petition to keep the statue, saying, in part, “History is not to be erased but remembered and learned from good, bad or indifferent.”