Natchez police arrest Turning Angel vandal

The Natchez Police Department will announce the arrest of the individual or individuals involved in the vandalism of the 112-year-old Turning Angel monument at the Natchez City Cemetery at 3 p.m. Friday.

Tuesday, the monument was knocked to the ground.

“Our investigation has taken us into another county for answers and a possible suspect,” Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong told the Natchez Democrat Thursday, adding, “We feel reasonably comfortable that an arrest could be forthcoming based on leads that we are running down at the moment.”

The landmark monument is known as the Turning Angel because at night when cars drive by, to some it appears the monument turns. It was erected in 1908 after a gas explosion at the Natchez Drug Company destroyed the building and killed 10 employees and bystanders.

The explosion put the drug company out of business. The owner purchased a lot to bury his employees, and he purchased the angel monument to place at their gravesite. The youngest employee killed was 12 years old.