Police caught a woman with green paint on her hands in the National Cathedral vandalism case Monday afternoon.
The cathedral is one of three Washington landmarks vandalized with green paint in recent days, News4 Washington has learned. Just three days after paint was found splattered at the Lincoln Memorial, a similar substance was discovered Monday at the National Cathedral and on a statue memorializing Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
National Cathedral officials confirmed green paint was found on an organ inside the historic Bethlehem Chapel, the oldest portion of the cathedral, completed in 1912. The paint was still wet.
The entire lower level of the cathedral was closed while police search the building. After more paint was found in the Children's Chapel on the main level, the entire cathedral was closed. The damage appears to be minimal and should be cleaned relatively easily, according to cathedral officials.
The suspect was found in one of the rooms where paint was found with paint on her clothing and hands and a container of paint in one of her bags, sources told News4's Mark Segraves. She got loud during the arrest but did not resist.
The cathedral will reopen in time for a concert scheduled for 7 p.m., but Bethlehem Chapel will remain closed.
Paint was also found on the front and back of the Joseph Henry statue's pedestal. The statue is located outside the Smithsonian castle, near the merry-go-round on the National Mall.
While the paint at the Lincoln was splattered on, the paint on the Henry statue resembles finger painting, Segraves reported.
It's unclear when the statue was vandalized. U.S. Park Police were alerted Monday morning to that incident.
U.S. Park Police are investigating whether the case at the Henry statue is linked to the incident at the Lincoln Memorial, Linda St. Thomas of the Smithsonian told News4.
"It is [the] Smithsonian's job to remove the paint -- from [the] granite base and bronze statue," she said. "We have to find a product that will not damage the protective coating."
St. Thomas said they should be able to remove the paint within a couple of days, but they are taking their time to make sure they don't damage the memorial.
Ian Glick, of the Park Police union, said the vandalism is evidence that more officers are needed to patrol in order to prevent such crimes.
Park Police are checking other statues on the National Mall.
Police have not said whether the woman arrested in the cathedral vandalism case is suspected in the other two cases of green paint vandalism.
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