Riverside community fixes 20-foot cross chopped down by vandals

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KABC) -- Community members in Riverside on Sunday have come together and fixed a 20-foot cross that was chopped down from a hill near a Catholic retreat center in what is being called a hate crime by residents.

Workers from Hi-Way Safety hiked up the hillside to the Divine Word Seminary and Retreat Center and got the cross back up. Riverside residents said the cross has been around since 1975 and is significant to many.

Riverside police said the incident was not being investigated as a hate crime, but rather an act of vandalism.

Anyone with information on the crime was asked to call the Riverside Police Department.