More than a dozen headstones were smashes at a historic Brooklyn cemetery early this morning. Marc Santia reports.
More than a dozen headstones — some dating back to the 1600s — were smashed inside a historic Brooklyn cemetery early Tuesday morning, a church official said.
Tombstones were snapped in half, while one grave marker was obliterated on the sidewalk in an incident that took 20 minutes to destroy more than 300 years of history.
And what happened means more than just damaged property for the congregation of the historic Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church.
"It’s history. It’s great history because...It tells stories, so just to come in and vandalize and destroy tombs. It’s just really a shame that someone would do this," said Minister De Lafayette Awkward.
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At least 17 headstones were destroyed in all. Some of the names on the markers have faded away, so the church will have to go into their vault to determine who is buried under the vandalized plots.
"We are very hurt by it because these tombstones have been here a long time and those family members who are still alive, descendants, it’s gonna be heartbreaking," the minister said.
Surveillance video obtained by NBC New York shows a person enter the cemetery around 2 a.m. Tuesday, and go on a rampage. That person can be seen kicking at tombstones, lifting one up and carrying it away to smash it on the walkway, video shows. The individual also was seen trying to lift the cover off of a tomb.
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"I know for me if my family was here I would be very very hurt by what I’m seeing," Minister De Lafayette Awkward said.
While heartbroken, the minister does not have a message of fire and brimstone for the person who vandalized this oasis of peace here in Brooklyn — but rather a message of forgiveness.
"We forgive them, we are still gonna move forward. We are a church of forgiveness. We are a church of Jesus Christ so we forgive," he said. "We are hurt by it but we forgive them and we want to continue to do ministry."
Police are investigating and searching for the suspect, as the church remains hopeful that these pieces of history can be restored. Detectives said that there is no hint as to a motive yet, just utter destruction of a New York City landmark.
