PALMETTO, Fla. — At Old Memphis Cemetery in Manatee County, the sheriff’s office has reported that 17 gravesites were found damaged.
Tampa Bay 28 reporter Larissa Scott traveled to Palmetto to visit the site of the vandalism.
WATCH: Crews prepare Old Memphis Cemetery for community cleanup event after vandalism
"It’s just heartbreaking, you know, this is sacred ground for families and their loved ones that are here,” said Rick Groover, President of Groover Funeral Homes.
It’s a historic Black cemetery.
The damage included spray-painted gravesites, headstones that were knocked down, and cracked concrete.
The sheriff’s office said there’s no indication any remains were removed.
Officials aren’t sure exactly when the vandalism happened, but the sheriff’s office is offering a reward to find who did this.
"To do what they did here, to destroy sacred retesting places for people, it was just really heartbreaking,” Groover said.
He was at the cemetery earlier this week assessing the damage.
"Some of the stuff is not as crucial. It wasn’t destructive, we can fix. But there are certain vault lids and things that have been just absolutely broken and we’re just going to have to remove and cover and then replace," Groover said.
There’s no doubt in his mind damage like this was intentional.
"The lids are poured. They’re thick concrete that, it was intentional just like you said, it was very intentional. It had to be done with a sledge hammer or something like that. I mean it look a lot of force to do some of the damage that’s out here and it’s just very disrespectful," Groover said.
Jason Toale, Vice President of Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Homes was at Old Memphis Cemetery with Groover.
They are part of a crew that started cleanup.
Toale was shocked to see the vandalism.
"Horrified. This is hollow ground, this needs to be respected and treated with dignity and care," Toale said.
The vandalism here has been deeply upsetting to the community.
There’s a community cleanup planned for May 23 to help get the cemetery back into shape.
The county said it’s an abandoned cemetery that dates back to the 1900s.
County commissioners recently approved funding to put up a fence around the cemetery and are looking into other security measures, like cameras.
"Of course this has fallen onto the county, and we wanted to come out to try to help with our expertise in this. We’ll try to get it back into a manageable position for them and then they can come out and maintain it from that point,” Groover said.
Groover, Toale, and their teams have been working to make sure the cemetery is safe for Saturday’s community cleanup, by doing things like securing gravesites.
"We’re going to make sure the spaces are safe and everything is dignified for when they’re out here,” said Groover.
Toale said, "What we’re looking for is major debris, getting that cleared out of the way so again people have access to the sites where they need to do the work and clean up as much as they can. Making sure nobody has any fears about coming out and helping on Saturday."
They want the families with loved ones at the cemetery to know that even though someone did something horrible to these gravesites, there are still people who care and want to offer support.
"That’s the main message I want them to take away is that there is people out in the community, there are people who care and want to be there for them and help them get through this tough time," said Toale.
"We want the family to know that there are, there’s still people that care. We care," said Groover.
The community cleanup will begin at 9 a.m on May 23.
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