US authorities looking for person responsible for putting googly eyes on statue

Authorities in the United States are on the lookout for a criminal with an unusual nickname: the "googly eye bandit".

On Friday (Oct 12), the government of the city of Savannah posted photos on its Facebook page of a statue of Revolutionary War general Nathanael Greene.

The statue, which is located in Savannah's Johnson Square, had googly eyes stuck on top of its eyes.

Savannah authorities appeared aghast, writing in their post: "Who did this?!"

Netizens, on the other hand, were amused. One user wrote: "The city officials are keeping an eye out for the culprits!"

Another added: "99% of the public didn't know these statues existed until now. Thanks for the history lesson, googly eyed bandit".

As of Sunday, the post had been shared over 24,000 times.

Many netizens also posted photos of people or objects with googly eyes in the comments section of Facebook posts by the city of Savannah government.

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Savannah authorities wrote in the original post about the statue: "It may look funny but harming our historic monuments and public property is no laughing matter, in fact, it's a crime."

It also urged members of the public to call the police with any information on the person responsible.

US news outlet KSN News said that the googly eyes, which did not result in any apparent damage to the statue, have been removed.

Police officers also wrote a trespassing report, as the suspect had to cross over a fence in order to place the googly eyes on the statue.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.