'Unconditional Surrender' targeted with April Fools' Day prank

Bayfront Drive commuters may have notice something strange about "Unconditional Surrender" this morning, as pranksters targeted the iconic downtown Sarasota statue with a highly visible April Fools' Day joke.

The city of Sarasota and the Sarasota Police Department removed a pink plastic mold resembling gum from the kissing nurse's shoe before 9 a.m. There was no damage to the statue.

"It would have been vandalism if there was damage," said SPD spokeswoman Genevieve Judge. "Luckily, that was not the case."

Officers are preparing a criminal mischief report, and there are no leads on suspects, Judge said.