Taggers vandalize 27 floors of DTLA high-rise with graffiti; 2 arrested
LOS ANGELES - An investigation is underway after multiple stories of an abandoned luxury high-rise building in downtown Los Angeles were tagged by vandals.
Video shows a team of taggers vandalizing the Oceanwide Plaza on S. Figueroa Street across from Crypto.com Arena and Peacock Place, formerly known as LA Live.
Nearly 30 floors were tagged.
"People from out of state came, people from the I.E., San Diego, everywhere. Everybody is coming to hit this spot," said one tagger who goes by Clops-Hel. "This is our way of expressing ourselves. It's a form of art therapy."
It's not clear at this time how long it took the taggers to do this, but the Los Angeles Police Department said they are working with the property's management company to implement additional security measures and have the graffiti removed.
LAPD said vandals are entering the property through holes in the gate. They tried to track down the suspects but all but two people got away.
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On Thursday night, LAPD identified the two suspects as 35-year-old Victor Ramirez and 25-year-old Roberto Perez.
Construction on the billion-dollar development began in 2015, with the project aiming to transform DTLA from "an in-and-out destination to a place to dwell," according to the architecture firm CallisonRTKL's website.
The project was slated to have two 40-story towers. Work was stalled in 2019 after the developer reportedly faced financial woes. The property is now reportedly up for sale.