A gun control activist was arrested after spray-painting a political message across the names of victims at the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan, defacing one of the nation’s most solemn memorial sites in a stunt that he recorded and subsequently publicized on social media.

Jonathan Andrew Tijerina, 31, allegedly carried out the vandalism Monday evening, October 26, targeting the North Tower Reflecting Pool at the World Trade Center memorial. The red paint was applied directly over sections of the bronze panels bearing the names of people murdered in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Police charged Tijerina with criminal mischief and making graffiti in connection with the incident, which authorities said caused more than $2,500 in damage.

The message painted across the memorial read “Juststopkillingkids.com,” directing attention to a website operated by Tijerina that advocates stricter gun control measures.

The incident was captured in videos subsequently published on Instagram, showing the activist approaching the memorial, removing a can of spray paint from his bag and writing across several of the engraved panels.

The footage documented the act from beginning to end, including the moments when Tijerina walked toward the reflecting pool and began applying red paint to the memorial’s surface.

Rather than distancing himself from the vandalism, Tijerina publicly identified himself as the individual responsible and used the incident to promote his political campaign.

“My name is Jon Tijerina and I’ve just spray-painted ‘just stop killing kids’ on the 9/11 Memorial,” Tijerina boasted.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum said security personnel and law enforcement responded promptly and that the affected sections were cleaned and restored.

In a statement addressing the incident, a spokesperson emphasized the importance of protecting the memorial as a place dedicated to the victims and their families.

“The 9/11 Memorial is a sacred place of reflection at the heart of a rebuilt World Trade Center that honors the 2,983 victims killed in the September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993 terrorist attacks. Yesterday’s brief incident was swiftly addressed by security staff and law enforcement, and the impacted area was immediately restored to its commemorative state,” a spokesperson told CBS New York.

The memorial’s two reflecting pools occupy the footprints of the original Twin Towers, which were destroyed when Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked commercial aircraft and crashed them into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

The bronze parapets surrounding the pools display the names of those killed in the attacks, along with the victims of the February 26, 1993, World Trade Center bombing.

For families who lost loved ones, the engraved names serve as a permanent tribute and a place for remembrance. The defacement of those panels brought a political demonstration directly onto a memorial dedicated to the dead.

Tijerina’s actions were connected to a campaign he describes as a movement of “nonviolent civil resistance,” through which he seeks changes to federal firearms laws.

His organization argues that demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience can pressure elected officials into adopting policies that activists believe would reduce gun violence.

Following his arrest, the organization issued a statement portraying the incident as an effort to draw attention from President Donald Trump and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

“On October 26, 2026, Jon Tijerina was arrested for spraying red paint on Freedom Tower in NYC. He is demanding that Trump and Mamdani enforce common-sense, highly popular demands with respect to guns such as Universal Background Checks and a National Gun Registry,” Tijerina’s organization wrote in a follow-up post.

Although the statement referred to Freedom Tower, the vandalism took place at the nearby 9/11 Memorial’s North Tower Reflecting Pool, rather than on the skyscraper itself.

The campaign’s principal demands are the establishment of universal background checks for firearm purchases and the creation of a national gun registry.

Supporters of universal background checks argue that requiring screening for nearly all gun transfers would close gaps in existing federal law. A national firearm registry, meanwhile, would involve a broader system for recording information about firearms and potentially their owners.

Both proposals have been subjects of longstanding political debate, with supporters arguing that they would strengthen efforts to prevent gun violence and opponents raising concerns about constitutional protections, privacy and government oversight.

Tijerina’s website presents the proposals as achievable reforms that would bring American firearm regulations closer to those adopted in other developed countries.

“We have two specific, achievable demands. Both have majority public support. Both already exist in other high-income countries. Neither requires repealing the Second Amendment. We are not asking for the impossible — we are asking for what every other wealthy democracy already has,” the website states.

Tijerina also pointed to a recent shooting following Florida A&M University’s homecoming football game as part of the motivation behind his protest. The incident, which left multiple people injured, had drawn renewed attention to gun violence and firearm access.

The activist connected that shooting to his broader argument that elected officials have failed to adopt measures he believes would reduce the number of children and young people killed or injured by firearms.

The memorial vandalism was not Tijerina’s first attempt to attract attention through an unconventional political demonstration.

Earlier this month, he said he had completed a seven-day fast to demand the construction of two million affordable housing units in New York City within five years.

Tijerina subsequently complained that the demonstration had received little public attention, despite his decision to go without food for an extended period.

His organization’s later social media statements portrayed the arrest at Ground Zero as another episode in an ongoing campaign of civil disobedience. The group said he had previously been arrested in multiple states and had undertaken other extended fasts in pursuit of political objectives.

The response from authorities at the memorial was immediate. According to Port Authority Police, memorial personnel notified officers at approximately 5 p.m. Monday that a man had been detained following the defacement of panels along the northern side of the North Pool.

Officers arrested Tijerina and transferred him to Manhattan Central Booking for processing.

The vandalism was also witnessed by visitors, including a 16-year-old tourist from the United Kingdom who told CBS News New York that police intervened almost immediately after the spray-painting began.

The witness, Ed Duffy, described seeing the suspect mark the engraved names with red paint before officers arrived and took him into custody.

Police said surveillance cameras also recorded the incident, providing additional evidence alongside the videos Tijerina himself published.

The suspect faces criminal charges stemming from the damage to the memorial, although the allegations have not yet been adjudicated in court.

Despite initial estimates placing the damage above $2,500, memorial officials said the graffiti was successfully removed and that the affected panels suffered no permanent damage.

The incident comes during the year marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a milestone that has brought renewed attention to the memorial and the families whose loved ones are commemorated there.

While Tijerina has defended his conduct as an effort to force public discussion of gun legislation, the incident has also drawn attention to the decision to use the names of terrorism victims as the setting for an unrelated political protest.

The memorial has since been returned to its original appearance, but the criminal case against Tijerina remains a consequence of a demonstration that he deliberately recorded and publicized.