The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) have charged seven teenagers after 61 headstones were vandalized at the St. Vincent de Paul cemetery in Mitchell, Ont.
The suspects, aged between 13 and 17, are facing charges of mischief over $5,000.
Perth County OPP started looking into the vandalism on January 4 at around 9:45 a. m., after a concerned citizen made a report. Initially, police thought the incident occurred the previous night.
Many families with damaged stones visited the site and expressed their shock at what they saw. One individual mentioned it felt like reliving a loss all over again.
The police thanked social media users for their help in locating the suspects and making arrests possible.
“We did at one point speak to a witness who saw some youths in the area that night, so we were able to follow up with that,” said Const. Kimberly Lyon, a community safety and media officer with Perth County OPP.
Video footage collected from social media also aided investigators in tracking where some of the teens may have gone after committing the crime, which Lyon stated helped identify several of them.
“I hope that with these arrests, those directly affected by the damaged memorials, and the entire community, can begin to recover from the distress that this has caused,” said Acting Inspector Davi Sinko in a statement.
The identities of the teens are protected under the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The suspects include:
A 13-year-old from Huron East. A 14-year-old from West Perth. A 15-year-old from West Perth. Two 16-year-olds from West Perth and one from Stratford. A 17-year-old from West Perth.
All are set to appear in Ontario Court of Justice in Stratford on an undisclosed date.
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