A man trying to resurrect his dead grandmother caused $30,000 worth of damage to a cemetery, say police in Tennessee.
Danny Frazier is alleged to have gone on a wrecking spree at the church cemetery in Huckleberry Springs Road, Knoxville, at around 2:30 p.m. on Monday.
Officials scrambled to the scene after receiving reports about extensive vandalism at the site.
When they arrived, reported WVLT, they found extensive damage including dug-up spots in the grounds and broken headstones. A witness told officers that a homeless man had been hanging around and damaging the cemetery.
Police identified a suspect who has been named as 34-year-old Danny Frazier.
He allegedly told officers he did destroy some of the property in an effort to “resurrect” his dead grandmother who is buried at the cemetery.
Officials said the cost to repair the damage would be roughly $30,000. Frazier was arrested and charged with vandalism and criminal trespassing.
In July, The Tennessee Tribune reported how vandalism at churches was on the increase.
The newspaper cited how one act of vandalism had left a statue of Jesus Christ headless, while sometimes items and buildings were set ablaze.
The report was produced amid a national debate over what to do about offensive and controversial statues.
President Trump signed an executive order in June vowing criminal prosecution for anyone caught damaging a monument, memorial or religious property.
Speaking to the Tribune, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami said incidents of vandalism could be considered a hate crime.
He said: “When we see acts of vandalism around the country, those acts of vandalism can result in more acts of vandalism.
“Just as our Jewish brothers and sisters are always very concerned about any incident of anti-Semitism, even if it instigated by someone who is mentally unbalanced, they immediately become very vigilant. Catholics, we have to be vigilant also.”
More than a dozen churches across the U.S. were vandalized in the weeks leading up to the July report, reported the Tribune, including a Florida church set ablaze by a man who crashed his vehicle into the building.
One such incident in July took place in Punta Gorda, Florida, when members of a local church reported damages to religious statues situated nearby.
Members of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church congregation notified police of the vandalism incident, according to southwest Florida’s NBC2 News.
Church members noticed five statues were either cracked or torn from their usual upright position. A 44-year-old man was later charged with criminal mischief to a religious establishment.
