Houston graffiti artist killed in NOLA

Victor Montano, a sixteen-year-old Houstonian, was hit and killed by a police vehicle in New Orleans. He had been visiting the city for about two weeks.

Police caught Montano spray painting along the floodwall last Thursday afternoon. When he saw the police, he took off running and the officer followed in his SUV. The officer said it appeared as though Victor was going to jump over a fence, but when tripped and fell in front of the car, the officer couldn't avoid hitting him. The incident is being investigated as an accident and the officer will likely not be charged with any crime. One blogger called the teen's death "suicide by cop."

A commenter on Dirty Third Streets, a blog about graffiti art along the so-called Third Coast, tells us where Montano's work can be found:

man this is sad. most of his throw ups were in great spots and some are still going strong. i mostly see his work on highway6 and clay road and some on barker cypress, and west little york going to barker(look up, its on a building top). ill try to get some more pics too. sad day indeed.

Grits for Breakfast also has an extensive post about the incident and graffiti laws and enforcement here and in New Orleans and promises to post more pictures of Montano's work as he finds them.

Photo of Victor's unfinished last work via the Times-Picayune.