A Dallas man cut a swath of destruction through an art museum because he was mad at his girlfriend, police say
A Greek amphora showing Hercules defeating the Nemean Lion © Getty Images / Hulton Archive
Brian Hernandez broke into the Dallas Art Museum at around 9:45pm on Wednesday night and wrecked some $5.2 million worth of artifacts because he was upset with his girlfriend, Dallas Police revealed on Friday. He has been charged with criminal mischief of greater than or equal to $300,000.
The 21-year-old readily confessed to his crime when interviewed by police, admitting he had been “mad at [his] girl so broke in and started destroying property.” He didn’t explain why he chose the art museum as the target for his rage.
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Hernandez was seen on security camera footage punching display cases and shattering their contents, including a sixth-century Greek amphora and a red figure pyxis pot dating back to the fifth century BC. A kylix (wine vessel) depicting Heracles slaying the Nemean Lion, worth about $100,000, and a contemporary bottle shaped like a Batah Kuhuh Alligator Gar fish were also destroyed, as was a ceramic Caddo effigy bottle and a bowl from the 6th century BC, each worth about $110,000.
In addition to the valuable artifacts, Hernandez also smashed a laptop, monitor, phone, four plexiglas display cases and two wooden display signs.
Hernandez reportedly used a metal chair to break into the museum and eluded security guards once inside as he proceeded on his smashing rampage. He used a hand sanitizer stand to shatter at least one of the display cases before picking up the fish-shaped bottle inside and smashing it on the ground.
The museum released a statement on Friday confirming that the break-in was “an isolated incident perpetrated by one individual acting alone, whose intent was not theft of art or any objects on view at the museum. However, some works of art were damaged, and we are still in the process of assessing the extent of the damages.”
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“While we are devastated by this incident, we are grateful that no one was harmed,” the museum concluded.
A representative from the museum elaborated that “It was someone that seemed to be angry, and his purpose was to get his anger exercised with the smashing, anything that he could find of glass.”
Hernandez’s bail has been set at $100,000.
