The desecrated headstones found July 28 at Netherlands Cemetery in Melrose, MA. Photo: Melrose Police Department.

JNS.org – About a half-dozen headstones at a historic Boston-area Jewish cemetery were founded toppled early Thursday morning, local officials said.

Witnesses reported seeing three young males wearing skates kicking over tombstones around 3 a.m. at the Netherlands Cemetery located in the Boston suburb of Melrose, the Boston Globe reported.

“I am deeply saddened and outraged by this vandalism and potential hate crime,” Melrose Mayor Robert Dolan said in a statement. “Cemeteries are sacred grounds. Any malicious destruction is deeply saddening and must be given the full attention of law enforcement.”

The Netherlands Cemetery, established in 1859 by Dutch-Jewish immigrants, is the third-oldest Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts.

The vandalism in Melrose comes nearly a month after the New England Holocaust Memorial in Boston was vandalized.

Earlier this year, Jewish cemeteries around the country, including near St. Louis and Philadelphia, were vandalized amid a wave of bomb threats against Jewish community centers.