Confederate statute marred year after sister memorial moved

SALISBURY, N.C. (AP) — One of North Carolina's most expensive Confederate memorials is under watch after vandals splattered it with what appeared to be white paint.

Media organizations report that police responded early Saturday to the 23-foot (7-meter) statue stationed on a downtown Salisbury street. Volunteers removed the paint splotches within hours.

Police Chief Jerry Stokes says authorities could pursue vandalism or property damage charges. Salisbury is 40 miles (65 kilometers) northeast of Charlotte.

The 109-year-old statue shows a winged woman holding a fallen soldier and his broken gun. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill library says the bronze statue and granite base cost more than $11,000 in 1909.

The same sculptor made a similar Confederate memorial for Baltimore. It was removed after last year's deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.