Ulster Unionist Assembly Member, Sandra Overend MLA, has condemned those who have vandalised headstones in the graveyard on the Drum Road, Cookstown, in what has been described by PSNI as a ‘hate crime’.
Mrs Overend said,
“I am utterly appalled to hear that gravestones in the Drum Road graveyard have been vandalised with Republican graffiti in a sickening, overnight hate crime. This is first and foremost and attack on the families of those who are buried there, and my sympathies are with them at this time. It is also an attack on the entire community in Mid-Ulster, who have been let down by these mindless thugs. It is shocking to think that these types of crimes are still being carried out.
“I have spoken to PSNI officials this morning and am pleased to hear that arrests have been made in connection to this attack. I commend the PSNI for their swift action. I hope that those who carried out this appalling hate crime can be punished to the full extent of the law. If anyone has any further information surrounding these alarming attacks, please get in contact with the PSNI, by calling 101.”