MANHATTAN, New York - On Sunday morning, surveillance footage in New York City's Union Square captured video of a man on a skateboard fleeing after defacing a work of art with deep significance to many in the local community and beyond.

The vandal threw paint at a statue of George Floyd, a Black man whose death at the hands of a police officer triggered a series of protests across the globe during the summer of 2020.

The statue, a bronze bust of Floyd that's part of Confront Art's "SEEINJUSTICE" exhibition, had only been on display since Thursday.

After the piece was defaced, volunteers from all walks of life worked together to clean it.

Andrew Cohen, a co-founder of the company that created the work of art was moved by the community's immediate reaction to the crime, CNN reports. 

Cohen said, "They went to the hardware and bought supplies out of their own pockets. This is inspiring teamwork and support from the community."

Harmony Seaburg, one of the volunteers who helped clean up the statue, spoke to reporters about how difficult it was to see it in its defaced state.

"It was really hard to see this larger-than-life man like this," Seaburg told CNN. "We're trying to get all the paint off his face, but it's very emotional."

The identity of the vandal is still unknown at this time, but police have launched an investigation into the incident.