MIAMI (WSVN) - Police are investigating after some vandals opened an above-ground crypt at historic Miami City Cemetery over the weekend.
The damage was found on Sunday by a local historian who volunteers at the cemetery cleaning up graves and learning about the people who are buried there.
“I’ve never seen this happen here at the cemetery,” said Ronnie Hurwitz on a video he recorded at the scene.
Hurwitz said he found a plywood board covering an above-ground crypt. “I knew it was vandalized right away,” he said. “They had a piece of wood over it, but I could tell they opened it up throughout the evening, probably went through it.”
City of Miami Police later responded to investigate.
According to officials, nothing was taken, and by Monday the grave cover was back in place.
Hurwitz said what happened here is a disgrace for a place that is so important when it comes to preserving the city’s history, especially local Black history.
“If you’re a Miami history geek, you want to go to the Miami cemetery,” he said. “You have Dr. Jackson from Jackson Memorial, Julia Tuttle, the Burdine family, the Rev. Theodore Gibson, who was like the Miami version of Martin Luther King.”
City officials said as a result of the vandalism, the cemetery will have increased patrols by park rangers.
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