TUCSON, Ariz. — The memorial site for a baby who was killed in a car crash in Tucson in April 2018 appears to have been vandalized.
Gabriel Torres-Shelby was just only 7-months-old. In the year and a half since his death, his parents have built an elaborate memorial for him off Mission and Irvington Roads.
Angel Shelby and Clarissa Torres-Shelby visit the site everyday. But on Saturday, they found much of it was destroyed.
Even though it was really windy the past few days, the couple believes the memorial was hit by vandals. They say statues and a wooden cross were previously staked down, but were found smashed and broken.
"There's no way that they could have uplifted, [and] came out to the street and shattered," Torres-Shelby said. "There's no possible way. It was vandalized."
A banner with Gabriel's name and picture also appears to have been slashed several times. And his name in letters were bolted onto a board, but every letter was ripped off, according to Torres-Shelby.
They have ordered a new banner and say they're not going to let what happened stop them from rebuilding.
"We're not going to let these bad people get the best of us," Shelby said. "I'm going to make it look even better. And if they destroy it again, I'm going to build it again."
The couple has filed a report with the Pima County Sheriff's Department. Anyone with information is asked to call 88-CRIME.
It's not the first time the family believes their son's memorial was vandalized.
RELATED: Toy drive held in honor of Gabriel Torres-Shelby's 1st birthday
MEMORIAL VANDALIZED: A memorial for a baby who was killed in a car crash last year is believed to have been vandalized over the weekend.
— Natalie Tarangioli (@ntarangioli) October 28, 2019
Baby Gabriel’s memorial is off Mission and Irvington. It’s since been cleaned up.
📸: Andrea Lopez pic.twitter.com/IbQwooOdG4