MIDDLETOWN, Conn. (WCBS 880) — Police in Connecticut are investigating after a cemetery sign was discovered vandalized on Monday morning.
A driver in Middletown saw the graffiti spray painted on the sign and brownstone wall of the Indian Hill Cemetery, located on Washington Street, around 10:30 a.m.
According to police someone used pink spray paint to write “Land Back” with an anarchy symbol on the cemetery’s sign.
“The same suspect(s) also painted expletives about Christopher Columbus on the brownstone wall beneath the sign,” Middletown Police said.
Authorities believe the vandalism happened sometime overnight.
The graffiti has since been covered to prevent the profanities from being seen by the public. Cemetery personnel are working on cleaning up the markings.
According to ConnecticutHistory.com, the cemetery was established in 1850 on land that may have previously been a Native American burial ground.
The vandalism occurred on the morning of Indigenous Peoples' Day and Columbus Day, which are both observed on the second Monday in October.
Police said the cemetery suspects the cost of cleanup will be “several hundred dollars.”
The case remains under investigation and officers are searching for witnesses and/or video evidence of the crime.
Anyone with information on this criminal act should contact Office Jason Tetrault at the Middletown Police Department (860-638-4000).