Sandy Hook Tribute Painted Over at Brookfield's Graffiti Bridge

By WENDY ANN MITCHELL (Patch Staff)

Click the green link below for an UPDATE, posted Aug. 18, 2015

Who Painted Over the Sandy Hook Tribute on the Graffiti Bridge Remains a Mystery

ORIGINAL ARTICLE Aug. 17, 2015

“Love is louder than violence,” the slogan silently screamed on the side of Brookfield’s famous graffiti bridge.

What once was a vibrant and colorful, yet solemn, tribute to the victims of the Sandy Hook shootings, has now been transformed to a dull and dreary wall of grey.

Just a few miles from Newtown, Brookfield’s iconic graffiti bridge had been the place for students to share their accomplishments when a sports team wins, or express their condolences when a beloved member of the community passes away. When a Brookfield teacher died in 2008, students painted, “R.I.P. Mr. Z,” and “We love you Z.”

An ever-changing canvas and sort of art therapy for students, two walls of the bridge had remained untouched since that tragic day in December of 2012. After the school shootings in Sandy Hook, the Brookfield High School peer counseling group painted green hearts with the initials of the victims, along with their ages. The words “Pray for Newtown” stood as a somber reminder for thousands of cars that pass through the Junction Road/Route 133 bridge each day to “Never Forget S.H.E.S.”

Patch contacted Brookfield’s First Selectman’s office to inquire about who painted over it and why and a representative stated that Housatonic Railroad Company are the ones who painted over the spray painted memorial.

“This is normally where the seniors list all of their achievements and all they’ve done this year,” Brian Kelly said in the YouTube video below. “This year they’ve decided they wanted to do something for Sandy Hook.”

As of this posting, Housatonic Railroad and Brookfield’s First Selectman could not be reached for comment.

What do you think of the Housatonic Railroad Company painting over the tribute to Sandy Hook? Tell us in the comments.

Click here to see a photo gallery of the graffiti bridge.

Photo 1: “Before,” 12/202, screen grab photo from YouTube. Credit: Brian Kelly

Photo 2: “After,” 8/17/15, Credit: Ruby Mitchell