Florida City Under Siege by 'Butt Graffiti'

"It is clearly an image of a butt," a coffee shop employee tells Fox 13 regarding a piece of graffiti that recently appeared in their bathroom. But police have a different view. "What it looks like to us is vandalism," Assistant Police Chief Jim Previterra says. Dozens of pieces of "butt graffiti" have been popping up all over St. Petersburg in Florida dating back to at least April. The Tampa Bay Times describes the offending art: "Three buttocks, formed by four unbroken lines. A simple yet mind-bending design that conjures a police lineup of backsides, or an alien race anatomically different from our own." While the butt graffiti usually features three cheeks, some examples have had up to seven.

The butts have been a big hit on social media, but not everyone is a fan. "I don't think it is very good," one person tells Fox 13. "It's not very creative." “This is not art. At all,” a woman tells WFLA. “It’s vandalism.” Police have documented at least 20 instances of butt graffiti in St. Petersburg. And Previterra, who calls the graffiti an "eyesore," says they will catch the culprit. “In the end, everyone gets their day," he says. Meanwhile, the Times went down an internet rabbit hole to find the artist who could possibly be responsible for the ballooning butt problem. The artist says he "can neither confirm nor deny" the butts are his. (More butt stories.)