About 25 headstones at Woodlawn Cemetery were damaged by vandalism Friday night, according to the City of Saskatoon.
Darren Crilly, the city’s director of parks, says the damage was done in an area that has graves mainly from the 1900s. Some graves that were damaged date back to the late 1800s.
Crilly said the city received a report about the damage. In some instances, parts of the headstones were broken off while others were knocked over.
“It’s an inappropriate, disrespectful and somewhat sickening activity that’s really disturbed us,” he said.
Crilly said the city reported the incident to police and that patrol will be increased in the area.
The city is working on contacting family members to notify them of the damage. It’s typically a family’s responsibility to pay for the cost of repairing a headstone, but since the damage was mainly restricted to older headstones, the city said there is limited contact information available. Crilly said, either way, the headstones will be fixed.
Crilly said in his five years of working as the park’s director he’s never received a report of vandalism of headstones in the two cemeteries ran by the city.
There are no surveillance cameras or security at Woodlawn Cemetery, which is not fenced off. Crilly said the city will be looking at potential surveillance options.
The city is asking anyone who sees suspicious activity in the cemetery to contact police.
