Armenian Cemetery in Fresno Set Ablaze

The Armenian cemetery "Ararat" located in the city of Fresno, California, has been set on fire. This was reported by "Zartonk".

The cemetery council is very concerned that all incidents are hate-motivated crimes. "As you can imagine, this is extremely upsetting for my board of directors, the Armenian community, my staff, and for me. Our mission is to compassionately serve Armenian families in their time of need while also keeping the memory of those buried here alive. The council, my staff, and I take this mission very seriously," said cemetery director Sheri Manning-Cartwright, who did not rule out that the arson may be related to the remembrance day of the Armenian Genocide victims on April 24.

This cemetery is the final resting place for many prominent Armenian figures, including Solomon Tehlirian, William Saroyan, Viktor Magakyan, and others.

It has been noted that on Friday night, eight trees were burned near the main entrance of the Armenian cemetery. Fresno police and firefighters arrived promptly; however, no arrests have been made. The fire occurred in the oldest section of the cemetery, which was established in 1885.

Preliminary estimates indicate that replacing the trees will cost $25,000. The administration is unsure if insurance will cover the expenses.