A George Floyd mural collapsed in Ohio - and everything from vandalism to a lightning strike has been blamed

• A large mural dedicated to George Floyd in Ohio collapsed to the ground Tuesday in Toledo, Ohio.
• A lightning strike, disrepair, and vandalism have all been pointed at as the possible culprit.
• The artist who created the mural says he plans on re-creating it at another location.

A large mural dedicated to George Floyd in Ohio has collapsed - and everything from vandalism to lightning has been pointed at as the possible culprit.

The bright mural, which was painted on the side of a building's brick wall in the city of Toledo last year, wound up being destroyed and reduced to a heap of rubble Tuesday.

Online photos show the artwork honoring Floyd, who was killed by fired Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25, 2020, with a gaping hole in it as a mound of colored bricks laid beneath it on the ground.

Witnesses reported to local police and fire officials that the mural crumbled as a result of a lightning strike at around 4:30 p.m. local time, according to WTVG and WTOL.

Doppler weather radar used by 13abc detected a lightning strike on the block of the mural's location at the same time on Tuesday.

One witness who saw the mural wall collapse told the Toledo Fire and Rescue Department that they saw lightning strike the building, WTOL reported.

However, city building inspector Hugh Koogan told The Blade that it appeared that the wall crumbled due to natural deterioration.

"It was just age. It just came away," Koogan said, explaining that the city noticed bowing in the middle of the wall recently. "It happens to the older buildings."

Artist David Ross who painted the mural titled, "Take a Breath," in the month after Floyd was murdered amid nationwide and global protests against police brutality said he was suspicious of the cause and questioned whether it was vandalism.

"When I did the mural, there was stuff on the wall that I couldn't remove and that let me know how strong that structure was," Ross told The Blade. "The lightning thing, that's possible, but I know it didn't just fall."

Regardless, the artist says he plans on re-doing the mural at another location.

"I'm not upset because I know I'm going to do it again, whether it was natural or vandalism," Ross said.