Cops: Vandals Wreck 'Jurassic World' Exhibition

One person was caught on video ripping skin off animatronic dinosaur
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 1, 2023 11:11 AM CDT
Cops: Dinosaur Vandal Causes $250K in Damage
A dinosaur at the "Jurassic World" exhibition in Mississauga, Ontario.   (Cat Quinn)

There were a lot of disappointed kids in Atlanta Monday after vandals wrecked "Jurassic World: The Exhibition," a newly opened exhibit featuring life-size animatronic dinosaurs. Police say there was an estimated $250,000 in damage after four intruders broke into the exhibition in the Pullman Yards event space Sunday night, the New York Times reports. Security footage shows one person "sitting on top of one of the dinosaurs ripping off the skin covering," according to a police report. The other three weren't seen damaging property, the police report states. Police said four custom-made dinosaur shirts worth $6,000 each were stolen.

One suspect, 19-year-old Acauan Carvalho Van Deusen, was arrested early Monday after a security officer spotted him near the premises, 11Alive reports. He was charged with second-degree burglary. The immersive exhibition, based on the Jurassic Park movies, opened in Atlanta on Friday. Similar exhibitions have appeared in cities around the world since 2016. Organizers say they hope to reopen by Wednesday and sent instructions on how to rebook to people with tickets, the AP reports.

"We understand how frustrating this is," organizers said in a statement, per the Times. "It was a little disappointing because it was supposed to be a surprise, but we are going to make the best of it,” one parent told WANF. "Can you imagine trying to tell an 8-year-old we're not going to be able to see that today?" (More Jurassic World stories.)

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