Two New Jersey men were arrested Sunday after a Snapchat video surfaced of one of the suspects urinating on the memorial of a little boy who died from cancer, while the other suspect laughed while recording the incident, according to police.
Authorities charged 23-year-old Bryan Bellace with disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, lewdness, and possession of an open alcoholic beverage in a public park. Bellace’s accomplice, 23-year-old Daniel Flippen, is charged with possession of an open alcoholic beverage in a public park, The Inquirer reports.
According to Township of Hamilton police, the incident occurred at a playground in Mays Landing, at the Underhill Park, where a memorial of Christian Clopp was placed after his death. Christian passed away in 2012 from brain cancer. He was 9 years old.
The video reportedly showed Bellace urinating on the little boy’s memorial while giggling and looking back at a cellphone that Flippen held as he recorded. A can of beer sat to the left Bellace.
Posted by Mark L Clopp on Monday, April 8, 2019
“A child who made the world a better place through his courage, faith, smile, laughter and love of others. May your memory and inspiration live on forever,” a message on the memorial reads, according to FOX News.
The boy’s father, Mark Klopp, admitted he was enraged when he heard what happened. He later posted on Facebook that the “good outweighed and overwhelmed the bad” when members of the community came together to sanitize and clean the memorial.
“I’ve heard from hundreds of people offering assistance. Friends and strangers went to wash the memorial off. t the end of the day, the good outweighed and overwhelmed the bad. This is what Christian did during his life. He brought people together.”
Mark Clopp said he has never met the suspects and has no idea why they would do such a despicable act.
“As for the two actors: I don’t know either one of you. I have no idea what exists in your life to make you so indifferent to how others feel but I hope this serves as a wake up call and you get the help you need.”
[Feature Photo: Christian Copp/Facebook]
