Crime & Safety
Pro-Pigeon 'Bird God' Vandal Strikes Again: Police
A Washington man was caught scrawling graffiti early Thursday at Grand Army Plaza arch, police said.
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, NY — A graffiti artist who painted a reverent pro-bird message on the Grand Army Plaza arch returned to the scene of his crime, police said.
A 911 call early Thursday brought NYPD officers to the plaza, where they found Denis Shelagin, 36, roosted atop a ladder and defacing the arch yet again, authorities said.
“If you cripple or kill any more of my birds then I will innihilate (sic) you in this next CARTEL WAR,” the New York Post reported the graffito read.
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In December, Shelagin stole a crane and spray painted "Bird God" on the arch — a message reportedly aimed to stop pigeon killings and inspired by instructions of his great-great-grandfather through a 1960s letter.
Police requested charges of making graffiti and criminal mischief against Shelagin, of Washington state, authorities said.
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He faces multiple felonies and misdemeanors from the previous case.
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