The mysterious appearance of two high-flying white flags fluttering atop the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City Tuesday morning has raised speculations of who might have been behind it, New York Daily News reported. The New York City Police Department responded to the scene and was investigating the matter.
After the two originally-placed American flags had been pulled out, the substitute white banners, which typically signal surrender, were witnessed flying Tuesday morning from atop the 273-foot towers on the venerable bridge, police said. It was unclear who was responsible, what happened to the missing American flags - and how the thieves gained access to a possible terrorism target under constant security.
Since the Brooklyn Bridge is considered to be a high-profile location, a marked NYPD patrol car is seen positioned on the Manhattan side of the bridge at all times as a counterterrorism measure. The flags, which are illuminated at night, are fastened with steel clips and usually only taken down for replacement when they become frayed or weathered.
After it was determined by NYPD crime scene investigators that no threat of bomb or any notes had been left with the flags, workers began taking down the white banners around 11 a.m., ABC News reported.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams issued a statement, saying, "If flying a white flag atop the Brooklyn Bridge is someone's idea of a joke, I'm not laughing," CBS News reported. "The public safety of our city is of paramount importance, particularly our landmarks and bridges that are already known to be high-risk targets," he said. "We will not surrender our public safety to anyone, at any time. Political and social expression, whatever its message may be, has a place in our society, but not at the expense of others' security."
Meanwhile, Councilman Mark Weprin was just one of many who spotted the flags Tuesday morning, tweeting: "Why are there white flags on top of the Brooklyn Bridge?" Others on Twitter jokingly questioned whether NYC had surrendered.
It was not the first vandalism case of a U.S. flag on the bridge as protesters has taken off with the flag during the Republican National Convention in 2004, demanding the release of demonstrators arrested by the NYPD. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the country's oldest suspension bridges, dating back to 1883, and is also a National Historic Landmark.
