Monday night was full of chaos at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where hundreds of protesting students brought down the controversial Silent Sam, a Confederate statue.
The protesters started gathering around the statue in the evening, asking the university officials to erect an alternative monument, saying the installed one was signifying white supremacy.
The statue was toppled to the ground late in the evening, amid tensions between police and protestors.
University chancellor Carol L. Folt condemned the incident calling the actions of protestors “unlawful and dangerous.”
“A group from among an estimated crowd of 250 protesters brought down the Confederate Monument on our campus last night,” Folt said in a statement. “Last night’s actions were unlawful and dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured.”
“The monument has been divisive for years, and its presence has been a source of frustration for many people not only on our campus but throughout the community,” she added.
The statue, which was erected in 1913, was given by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909 and has been a subject of controversy and protests in last few years.
Meanwhile, the police are investigating vandalism and the extent of damage.