RICHMOND, Va. – A statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond has been torn down by protesters, set on fire and then submerged into a lake.

The figure was toppled less than two hours after protesters gathered in the city’s Byrd Park Tuesday chanting for the statue to be taken down.

The figure was removed from its pedestal around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday by protesters using several ropes. NBC 12 reports it was then set on fire and submerged into a lake in the park.

A sign that reads, “Columbus represents genocide” has been placed on the spray-painted foundation that once held the statue.

This comes days after the Confederate statue of Gen. Williams Carter Wickham was taken down the in Monroe Park on Saturday night by the same method.

After the statue fell, protesters dragged the sculpture to the nearby Landing at Fountain Lake. ABC 8News in Richmond spoke with one protester who admitted to helping knock down the statue. The protester says the action was not planned, however, explaining that the act was a build-up over time after chants of “tear it down.”