Man Broke Into Museum Damaged Art Work Worth Millions Because He Was “Mad At His Girl”

When you and your significant other get into an argument, what do you do? Do you talk it out? Scream into a pillow? Break into a museum and smash million-dollar artifacts? Yeah, me too.

In Texas, a man reportedly broke into the Dallas Museum of Art and smashed several ancient objects.

When the Dallas police department responded to the "burglary in progress" at the museum, they found the suspect had damaged several artifacts.

The man who broke in around 10 PM was identified as 21-year-old Brian Hernandez. He told authorities he broke in and caused damage because he was "mad at his girl." Hernandez broke into the museum by repeatedly striking a glass door with a steel chair.

Hernandez called 911 on himself in addition to the guard capturing him, officers said.

The New York Times reported that a total of three ancient Greek artifacts dating to the 5th and 6th centuries B.C.E. were badly damaged.

Museum director Agustin Arteaga said the items are insured and have a value of $1 million or more, but said that the actual cost of the destruction will not be known until after an official damage assessment. Other reports put the estimated damage at a level of more than $5 million.

Hernandez had no intention of stealing any objects. Arteaga said, “There was no intention, from what we can see, of stealing anything, of damaging any work of art in a deliberate way. It was just someone who was going through a moment of anger and found this as a way to express it.”

The damaged items include:

• A Greek bowl from the sixth century B.C.E. featuring vignettes of Herakles grappling with the Nemean lion.
• A red-figure pyxis, or cylindrical container with a lid, from the fifth century B.C.E.
• A ceramic amphora from the sixth century B.C.E.
• A ceramic container by a contemporary Native American artist.

Police say the Greek Pot and the Ceramic Amphora were worth about $5 million together. The Greek Bowl from the 6th century BC was worth about $100,000, and the ceramic Caddo effigy bottle was valued at about $10,000.

Hernandez was charged with felony criminal mischief.

Read More Here: NewsArtNet