Local jogger captures video of a vandal damaging graves in Woodlawn Cemetery

It was early Thursday evening when somebody decided to desecrate graves in Woodlawn Cemetery — little did he know it was all caught on camera — thanks to a jogger who just happened to witness and record.

On Friday morning, the Grand Rapids Police Department responded to reports of damage at the Woodlawn Cemetery , which is located at 2530 Kalamazoo Ave. SE and is owned by the City of Grand Rapids.

The grave sites hit were located throughout the West portion of the cemetery.

While the damage was being done, a nearby resident, Craig O'Neill, saw it all unfold. “I saw him over here — statue over his head — slamming it down," O'Neill said. "I saw this poof of sand come out.”

At one point — the unidentified man even threatened O'Neill's life. There is video footage that O'Neill captured of the vandal saying, "Want to die?"

Still — O'Neill defended the cemetery he calls home, with his own opinion of what he witnessed.

"What we're dealing with in this particular context is not a random vandal that was just going out here for giggles," O'Neill said. "It was someone who was definitely off, whether it be addiction or some other affliction.”

As O'Neill continues his daily walks throughout the Woodlawn Cemetery, he said, "There's a little element of what I can only acknowledge as fear that was not there before.”

So, O'Neill is fighting on behalf of his community to bring back their peace.

“I feel compelled to push against that and reclaim the territory that was lost by an unfortunate act," O'Neill said.

O'Neill tells me that as of this morning, authorities informed him that they are still searching for the man that did this — who O'Neill identified as a Latino in his early 20's.

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