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Confederate monument in Cornelius targeted; CMPD patrolling monuments

By John Paul, wsoctv.com
By John Paul, wsoctv.com

CORNELIUS, N.C. — A Confederate monument in Cornelius was targeted by vandals over the weekend in response to the growing tensions after a deadly attack on protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Someone used blue spray paint to deface the BB Corn Confederate Monument that was erected more than 100 years ago.

"People come and destroy it. It's a shame, you know," resident Aliza Feldmon said.

She walks by the monument every day, and on Tuesday she stopped in her tracks.

"I came back from my walk and I see this cross over there and I feel so - I feel offended, you know,” Feldmon said.

She was born in Israel but sees this as a part of history and doesn't think it should be vandalized.

She also wasn't happy to see what happened in Durham.

[RELATED: Charges sought against those who toppled Durham Confederate statue]

A crowd gathered Monday night and tore down a Confederate statue.

Other monuments across the country are also being targeted.

Feldmon believes it's pitting people against each other.

"I was almost crying about the situation. That was happening here. It's a shame," Feldmon said.

Channel 9 watched crews clean off the spray paint in Cornelius, which is a familiar place for them.

The paint on the cannon can still be seen after someone targeted the same monument in 2015.

The committee in charge of the monument put up a fence and cameras in response.

[READ MORE: Cornelius police investigating vandalism of Confederate monument]

Cornelius police are reviewing the images but don't have a suspect.

Cornelius resident Harry Saake watched crews clean up the vandalism and agreed that police should get involved.

“I think it is a part of history,” Saake said.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are keeping watch on Confederate monuments in Charlotte.

Channel 9 went by the memorial at Elmwood Cemetery, which was vandalized in 2015. Ground crews checked to see what Channel 9 was doing because, they said, they’ve been told to keep an eye out for vandals.

Police said they have also been patrolling.

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