An attacker broke in and inflicted $250,000 in damage to a recently launched dinosaur exhibit in Atlanta that is modeled on the popular “Jurassic Park” film franchise, according to the police. We have one man in custody.
According to a police report, on Monday, officers from the Atlanta Police Department went to a burglary call at Jurassic World: The Exhibition, where a manager claimed to have found numerous displays destroyed.
The show, which has already made trips in North America, made its official debut on Friday at Pullman Yards, a sizable entertainment complex east of Atlanta. Life-size dinosaur models are used in the show, which claims to immerse viewers in sequences from the movies.
The tweet below confirms the news:
A dinosaur exhibition in Atlanta based on the “Jurassic Park” movies was temporarily closed after an intruder broke in and caused $250,000 in damage, the police said. Security footage showed a man on top of a dinosaur, ripping off its skin.https://t.co/3LnTNoffpJ
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 31, 2023
Security footage, according to officials with the exhibition, showed four suspects entering the building on Sunday night. Afterward, one suspect was reportedly spotted “sitting on top of one of the dinosaurs ripping off the skin covering,” according to the report.
The cost of the damage was above $250,000, according to the police, who also reported that four custom-made dinosaur shirts worth $6,000 apiece were stolen.
On Monday at about 6:30 a.m., a security guard claimed to have run across a man close to a building’s restaurant. The police photographed the individual and his driver’s license, although at the time he was not aware of the exhibition’s damage. According to the report, security is present on the premises every day.
Acauan Carvalho Van Deusen, 19, was eventually identified by the authorities as the man. He was apprehended without a hitch at a residence close to the show. He was accused of breaking in.
It wasn’t known if Mr. Van Deusen had legal counsel.
The three further intruders have not yet been officially identified, but according to the police report, they were not captured on camera entering the exhibition or causing any damage.
A request for comment on Wednesday morning was not immediately responded to by representatives of the exhibition.
The display, however, had been vandalized, and the crew was temporarily closing it while they repaired the damage, according to a statement from the exhibition’s officials posted on Instagram on Tuesday.
View this post on Instagram
Additionally, representatives of the exhibition appeared to be responding on Instagram to worried and irate visitors.
“We understand how frustrating this is and are committed to ensuring that all affected reservation holders can rebook their sessions,” officials said in the statement.
The length of the exhibition’s maintenance closure was unknown. At the very least, during the summer, the display is anticipated to be open.
The dinosaurs took 18 months to design and manufacture, according to Michael Mattox, executive vice president of Animax Designs, the Nashville-based business that built them.
According to him, the dinosaurs were created by over 140 artists, engineers, and other creative people.
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