OTTAWA -- A local company has remounted more than 100 headstones at a Montreal Road cemetery free of charge after they were knocked down over the weekend.
Staff say 118 headstones at Notre Dame Cemetery were pushed over. Two suffered major damage, while others suffered scratches.
People who visited loved ones’ graves over the weekend discovered the vandalism, which largely happened in the northwest corner of the cemetery.
But since the damage was discovered, nearly all the headstones have been righted. Local company Laurin Monuments offered to restore the vandalized headstones free of charge.
The 120-year-old company, which calls itself one of Ottawa’s oldest, had mounted many of the cemetery’s headstones. Owner Patrick O’Shaughnessy said it was the right thing to do to remount them.
“Honestly, the best way to go after these people when you can’t catch them is just really to defy them by putting them up as quickly as possible,” he said.
Police told CTV News they believe the damage happened Friday night.
Richard Crispin, 42, has been charged with one count of mischief.
