UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. _ The day after dozens of headstones were discovered toppled at a historic Jewish cemetery, local and national leaders on Tuesday expressed their outrage over the desecration and condolences to families affected by the vandalism.
The University City Council released a statement saying members stand with Jewish friends and neighbors in the aftermath of the act that damaged up to 200 headstones at Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery.
"University City is and always has been a community of inclusion _ the people of University City will not tolerate hateful and hurtful acts," council members said.
Police are investigating the vandalism, which happened over the weekend. No arrests had been made as of Tuesday. Asked on Monday whether the incident is being investigated as a hate crime, Detective Lt. Fredrick Lemons II said police were keeping all options open.
But Tuesday he said, "There's nothing to indicate it was any type of hate crime."
Officials are reviewing a weekend's worth of video in the area for information. They have not yet narrowed down the time the vandalism happened, but believe it occurred between Friday evening and Sunday morning. Lemons wouldn't say if they've found anything on tape so far that looks suspicious.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens denounced the vandalism as a "despicable act" in a post late Monday on his Facebook page. In a later post, he said he planned to join volunteers to help clean up the cemetery on Wednesday.
"One measure of a community's strength is what we do in moments like this," he said in the later post. "We can choose to cower, or we can choose productive action and shared service."
In Jefferson City, state Rep. Stacey Newman, a Democrat, called on her colleagues in the House to stand for a moment of silence to recognize what she called an "act of hatred."
Newman, who has family members buried in the cemetery, stood with Rep. Joe Adams, a Democrat whose district includes the cemetery.
"This desecration has devastated the whole St. Louis community," Newman said. "The grief and the sadness of this act is overwhelming. Completely overwhelming."
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., called the damage an "affront to values we hold dear as Americans."
The Anti-Defamation League offered a $10,000 reward in the case.
Meanwhile, national and local religious communities are coming to the cemetery's aid.
Brooklyn-based social justice activist Linda Sarsour started the fundraising campaign Muslims Unite to Repair Jewish Cemetery to raise money for repairs. In about a day the online campaign raised more than $25,000, well above its original $20,000 goal.
All Nations Church, a Lutheran church in University City, was also among those trying to raise money for the cleanup. Its pastor, Chris Paavola, said of the vandalism: "This is just intolerable. It's a hateful act."
Imam Mufti Asif Umar of the Islamic Federation of Greater St. Louis called the incident "a horrific and disgusting act ... which cannot be tolerated."
The Imam Council of Metropolitan St. Louis, which represents 18 Islamic centers in the region, planned to encourage Muslim congregations to donate to help with cemetery repairs.
The desecration was discovered the same day several Jewish community centers around the country received bomb threats, according to officials.
On a visit to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture on Tuesday, President Donald Trump denounced anti-Semitic acts and said "it's going to stop and it has to stop."
In the past he has drawn criticism for not denouncing anti-Semitic groups who support him.
Trump said the threats to Jewish communities and centers were a "painful and sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil."
Andy Cohen, the host of "Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen" on Bravo, decried the vandalism in his hometown. He said his great-grandparents and many other of his relatives are buried there.
According to its website, the cemetery dates to 1893. The damage was done to an older part, on the southeast end. In one swath, for example, spread across about 40 yards, two dozen stones are toppled but 10 rows of stones nearby are untouched.
Anita Feigenbaum, executive director of the Chesed Shel Emeth Cemetery, said officials were cataloging the damage Tuesday.
People should call the office for more information about which headstones were vandalized. People can also donate to the cemetery through the website or the Jewish Federation of St. Louis.
Feigenbaum was emotional in describing the damage she saw. "It's hard to even express how terrible it was," she said Tuesday morning. "It was horrible."
Visitors streamed in to see if their family stones were pushed over.
Judy Sipkin of Creve Coeur, a St. Louis suburb, heard about it from her daughter in Dallas, who saw it on Facebook. Sipkin and her sister, Marla Levinson, rushed out to survey the damage.
The headstones of their parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles were all fine. Levinson snapped a photo of one toppled stone _ Rubenstein, her mother-in-law's name _ and was sending it to her husband to see if it matched his side of the family.
"It's unbelievably disrespectful, just a shame," she said. "Nobody's saying it's a hate crime, but it certainly wasn't love or a compassionate situation."
The sisters said they hoped the vandalism was a juvenile prank.
"Let's hope it was children who don't know better," Levinson said, "instead of a white supremacist group. That's a whole different ballgame."
