Vandals overturn more than 20 headstones at historic Kawaiahao Church cemetery
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
Visitors to the graveyard at Kawaiahao Church on Kapiolani and Punchbowl were visibly shaken at the sight of number of headstones that had been toppled earlier on Wednesday.
More than 20 headstones at Kawaiahao Church cemetery were knocked over sometime today in downtown Honolulu.
Brickwood Galuteria, chairman of the church’s Board of Trustees said that the board is still gathering information about what happened, and a police report was filed.
Church officials suspect that it happened early this morning.
“It’s very unfortunate what happened,” Galuteria said.
Many Native Hawaiian families are buried at the historic cemetery.
Kawaiahao Church is the first Christian church built on Oahu and is where Hawaiian culture and language is perpetuated, its website says.
Many of the overturned headstones date back to the early 1900s.
Residents who went to the cemetery this afternoon after hearing the news to check on their family graves denounced the desecration.
