The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC has been shut down temporarily after the monument was splashed with green paint by a vandal.

The Washington Post reports that the paint was splashed on the statue of the 16th president of the U.S. and on the monument’s marble floor.

U.S. Park Police said that they do have surveillance footage, which officials are reviewing. However, they released no further information on who they believe did it or what the motive may be. They believe the incident happened around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning.

The vandal did not paint any message - the paint was just splashed randomly on the statue. Police said that no other monument at the Mall was vandalized.

According to WUSA, cleanup is expected to start later this morning. It will stay closed until cleanup is finished.

The monument was designed by Henry Bacon and the Lincoln statue stands 19-feet tall. It opened in 1922 and features the Gettysburg Address and his second Inaugural Address engraved in the walls. Millions of people visit it each year.

image: Wikimedia Commons