Pictures of young refugees from the war-torn countries of Syria and Iraq have been defaced with spray paint at Pittsburgh's Three Rivers Arts Festival.
Journalist Maranie Staab, of Pittsburgh, is currently in Iraq photographing the ongoing crisis there in Mosul. She posted a photo of the defaced images and a message for the vandal or vandals on Facebook: "If the person that did this happens to see this, I would welcome the opportunity to speak to you about these kids."
The two defaced pictures showed refugee children. The vandals X-ed out their faces with spray paint.
The festival invites artists to display their work in juried shows and an open market. Organizers told the Associated Press they believe the vandalism was random and not politically motivated.
Defaced photos were taken down Wednesday and have been replaced.
The festival at Point State Park runs through Sunday.
