LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) A mural painted on a wall in northern Colorado in response to the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., is gone but will be preserved.

Longmont artist Gamma Acosta has been painting temporary murals on his uncle's vacant building for more than five years, painting over the previous works each time. The day after the Sandy Hook shooting, he painted six shattered crayons along with a small red heart.

He said an anonymous art collector contacted him about preserving it. The Longmont Times-Call reported that he and friends carefully removed the wood paneling the mural was painted on Monday. The collector will also replace the paneling.

Acosta had planned a work to address shootings following the Oregon mall shooting, but then 20 children and six adults were killed in Newtown.