'Black Lives Matter' Spray-Painted On UT Texas Confederacy Panel After Killings Of Two Black Men By Cops

Austin, TX -- In the wake of two more killings of black men at the hands of police, University of Texas at Austin students arrived on campus on Thursday to see a prominent school fixture spray-painted with the words "Black Lives Matter."

It's unclear who is behind the graffiti, which defaced a panel that honors the Confederacy located in the South Mall part of the campus off East 21st Street.

An Instagram user going by the handle @villaloboslucha took a picture of the spray-painted statement, and it's since shared on Twitter and other social media outlets. One of those who shared the photo was Twitter user Ramon Mejia.

The timing of the political statement comes on the heels of Wednesday's killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., and Philando Castile in Minnesota at the hands of police. Both men were shot by police, the former while selling CDs outside a convenience store and the latter after an officer mistook his reaching for a requested driver's license for something sinister.

Austin itself hasn't been immune to police shootings of black individuals under questionable circumstances. David Joseph, 17, was shot dead by officer Geoffrey Freeman in February after the officer said the teenager -- unclothed and naked when found wandering near his neighborhood -- ignored his commands to stop and instead charged at him.

The officer was fired from the police force as a result of the fatal shooting, but a grand jury later opted not to indict him. Police union president Ken Casaday has vowed to get Freeman's job back.