BOB Marley’s star on Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles, California, has been vandalised.

The discovery was made on Monday. However, repair work on the monument started yesterday.

Ana Martinez, vice president for the Walk of Fame at the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, told the Jamaica Observer that investigations are continuing and that a new one should be in place within a week.

“The cops are investigating this one. Every once in a while we have incidents like this, but we have no idea why anyone could have vandalised this star. I produced the ceremony when this star was unveiled and that is why I was so ‘ticked off’ when it happened. I kept thinking why would someone do this? I just want the family and everyone to know that as soon as it happened our guys went in to start the repairs. The brass pieces including the name plate will be re-used. It will take a few days to be cast, then it has to cure and be polished before it is replaced. So it should be back in place in about a week or so,” Martinez told Observer yesterday.

According to US media reports, the star appears to have been damaged with a sledgehammer or something heavy, which resulted in huge dugouts in the terrazzo and brass monument located at 7080 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.

When it was discovered on Monday, Martinez took to social media to express her horror at the act of vandalism.

“Why would anyone do this to Bob Marley’s star? Help me understand. The Walk of Fame is a State registered Historic landmark! Disrespectful,” she said on Twitter. “This is considered vandalism to a State Historic Landmark. It will be repaired by the Hollywood Historic Trust and will cost nearly US$3,000 to repair it,” she continued.

The Marley family declined the Observer’s request for comment, while representatives at the Bob Marley Museum on Hope Road in St Andrew said they were not aware of the incident.

Marley is king of reggae music. He died in May 1981. He is the only Jamaican artiste to have a star on the Walk of Fame and was posthumously awarded in February of 2001.

The Hollywood Walk of Fame comprises more than 2,600 stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in California. The stars are permanent public monuments to achievement in the entertainment industry, bearing the names of a mix of actors, musicians, directors, producers, musical and theatrical groups, fictional characters, and others. The Walk of Fame is administered by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce and maintained by the self-financing Hollywood Historic Trust. It is a popular tourist destination.