Script: Robbers take 300-year-old "priceless" violin

Interviewer 1: A 300-year-old Stradivarius violin on loan to Milwaukee Symphony

Orchestra lead violinist Frank Almond was stolen during an armed robbery last Monday.
Police Chief Flynn: Almond was attacked with a stun gun after he gave a performance
at Wisconsin Lutheran College. The robbery of the instrument took place shortly before
10:30 p.m. in a parking lot in the rear of the school.
Police Chief Flynn: The violin was valued in the high seven figures.
Police Chief Flynn: As Almond lay on the cement, the robber fled to a nearby vehicle,
which then left the scene.
Police Officer 2: the escape vehicle, a maroon or burgundy minivan, was driven by
another person.
Interviewer 1: Investigators believe the instrument was the target of the robbery,
Police Chief Flynn: The violin is known in musical circles as the Lipinski Stradivarius.
Interviewer 2: Stradivarius violins are among the world's most famous and expensive.
Built by Antonio Stradivari during the late 1600s and early 1700s, they have been played
by some of the world's greatest violinists.
Interviewer 1: In a 2008 newspaper story on the violin, Chicago violin dealer Stefan
Hersh said the Lipinski violin was similar in value to another Stradivarius that sold for
more than $3.5 million in a 2006 auction.
Police Chief Flynn: Id Described the violin taken in the robbery as priceless. Its value
could only be appreciated by a very small population.
Police Chief Flynn: It cant be easily sold for even a fraction of its value.
Police Officer 2: These are wildly valuable to a tiny slice of the art world.
Police Chief Flynn: The violin was crafted in 1715 in Cremona, Italy. It has a unique
pattern on its back, the chief said.

Interviewer 2: Police have not ruled out that the robbery was an unplanned street
crime. Yet, they are working with investigators with the FBIs art crimes team based in
Virginia, which specializes in high-end art thefts.
Police Chief Flynn: The International Criminal Police Organization, Interpol, has also
been notified. This is a potentially international crime.
Police Officer 2: Investigators are searching everywhere from pawn shops to
international databases.