'Mystery mural' on side of gun store painted over

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The owner of a building rented by a gun store in Citrus County painted over a 'mystery mural' that appeared on the side of the structure last weekend.

The mural was painted on the side of the building rented by Florida Gun Supply. Employees there said it happened last weekend while the store's staff was away for training. Despite not asking for the mural to be painted, Florida Gun Supply said it actually loved the mural and hoped it would be allowed to stay.

The city, however, says businesses must get approval from a committee before painting a mural or putting up a sign on a building. A public meeting to discuss the mural was scheduled for June 8, but will likely no longer be necessary. 

The mural was more than 36 feet long and almost 10 feet tall, and depicted a United States flag, the iconic image of soldiers raising the flag on Iwo Jima, and had the words "Thank You Armed Forces" painted on a yellow banner. In the bottom left corner, "Donated by Ed Peters" was painted in black lettering. 

The store's owners say it was painted some time between 6 p.m. Saturday, May 20 and 9 a.m. Monday, May 22. 

The city sent a statement to FOX 13 regarding the code. It states:

"The City’s land development code requires a review of alterations to the exterior appearance of structures in the historic central business district. In Inverness, the board that serves this function is the Aesthetics and Architectural Review Committee. The process is typical of many cities across the nation that value their historic character and aesthetic appearance. Inverness is merely following an adopted process typical of many cities."