A DeKalb, Georgia resident has been arrested and charged with vandalizing a statue of Tupac Shakur at the arts centre named after the iconic rapper.

According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, 43 year-old Kenneth Anthony Wilson was charged late last week with second-degree criminal damage to property, a felony. Wilson is currently being held in a DeKalb jail under $1,500 bond.

Dekalb police spokeswoman Mekka Parish said authorities have no reason to believe the crime was racially motivated. Wilson is an African-American.

Initial reports of the incident from the centre's publicist said a noose was hung around the neck of the statue although police maintain it was a cross on a string.