CHARLOTTE -- A Charlotte church is now assessing the extensive damage done to dozens of gravesites.

Tuesday night, someone knocked over at least 20 headstones in a cemetery along Rozzelles Ferry Road.

It's owned by nearby Salem Baptist Church which has spent nearly 144 years in northwest Charlotte.

Church officials estimate the damage is worth at least $10,000.

"A lot of the founding members and their children are burried in that cemetery," said Pastor Barry Elliott. "We received a phone call today from a gentleman who said that one of the persons buried there was the slave of his great great grandfather."

The pastor says the cemetery has at least 40 gravesites, meaning half of the cemetery was vandalized.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police are investigating.