100 headstones vandalized at Wissinoming Jewish cemetery

WISSINOMING (WTXF/AP) - Police say about 100 headstones have been vandalized at a local Jewish cemetery: Mount Carmel Cemetery in Wissinoming.

They say they got the call about the vandalism just after 9:30am Sunday from a person reporting "three headstones belonging to his relatives were damaged, due to being knocked over."

Mount Carmel Cemetery is located at Frankford and Cheltenham avenues.

Police say the cemetery was inspected and about 100 more headstones were found to be knocked over, and that it appears the crimes happened sometime after dark on Saturday.

Mayor Jim Kenney released the following statement on Sunday evening:

"My heart breaks for the families who found their loved ones' headstones toppled this morning. We are doing all we can to find the perpetrators who desecrated this final resting place, and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Hate is not permissible in Philadelphia. I encourage Philadelphians to stand with our Jewish brothers and sisters and to show them that we are the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection."

The cemetery would've been closed from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning for the Jewish Sabbath.

Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon called the damage reported in Philadelphia "shocking and a source of worry."

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia said it plans to open a mailbox to start raising money to speed up repairs. A GoFundMe page has also been started.

According to Fox 29's Investigate Journalist Dave Schratwieser, Philadelphia FOP President John McNesby offered a $3,000 reward towards the arrest.

On Sunday night, Philadelphia police announced in a statement that a $10,000 reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest of the person responsible for the crime.

According to police, the reward comes from the Mizel Family Foundation and Anti-Defamation League.

This comes a week after more than 150 headstones were damaged at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, many of them tipped over.