Anti-racism protesters in England have pulled down a statue of a 17th-century slave trader while demonstrating in solidarity with the US Black Lives Matter movement.
The protesters in the city of Bristol, in southwest England, tied the bronze statue of Edward Colston with rope before toppling it to cheers from the surrounding crowd.
Demonstrators were later seen rolling the statue to the nearby harbor and throwing it into the River Avon.
While the incident garnered much celebration among protesters, local police say an investigation has been launched into the incident.
"There was a small group of people who clearly committed an act of criminal damage in pulling down a statue near Bristol Harbourside," Avon and Somerset police said Sunday in a statement. "An investigation will be carried out to identify those involved and we are already collating footage of the incident."
The statue of Colston had stood in Bristol's city center since 1895 but had become increasingly controversial, with petitions created to demand its removal.
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