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STANLEY, NC — Family members are heartbroken after what they call a vicious and sick prank. Someone damaged more than a dozen headstones in Gaston County.
WCCB talked to the children of a woman whose resting place was disturbed by vandals.
“Just about couldn’t believe it,” said John Kee, a Stanley resident.
John and Sylvia Kee had to pick up and place their mother’s headstone back on it’s foundation Monday. It was one of 13 headstones vandalized Friday night at a cemetery off the Dallas Stanley Highway in Gaston County.
“It’s like somebody breaking into your house. It’s just damaging, hurtful,” said Sylvia Kee, a West Charlotte resident.
The cemetery belongs to Springfield Baptist Church. Some church members are trying to fix the graves so families won’t have to pay for repairs.
“It had to be more than one person, because those headstones are pretty big and one person can’t push them over,” says Lionel Sanders, a church trustee.
Many of the headstones date back to the late 1800’s, and some are the graves of men who fought in Vietnam and the Civil War.
One of the headstones that was tipped over belongs to Theodore Abernathy, a big piece of local history. Local legend says Abernathy was the last born slave in Gaston County.
“It was vicious and careless. They have no respect for the people that are supposedly in their resting places,” said Kee.
Gaston County police and church members are trying to find out if specific headstones were targeted, or if it was just a random prank.
“I mean, we’ll forgive them, cause that’s what God wants us to do, and that’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we should be doing,” said Sanders.
“Hopefully they’ll get caught. That’s what I’m hoping,” said Kee.
The church is hoping its insurance will cover some of the damages. Community members are also stepping up to help.
On Monday night, Gaston County police had no leads.
