TACOMA, Wash. — A Tacoma musician says he's more sad than angry after his clarinet was stolen from his small business as he stood just feet away from the thief.
Victor Prinsen was hosting a group of friends in the showroom of his store, High Note Audio, when someone he didn't know quietly sat in the front of the store between a Prinsen's saxophone and clarinet.
Prinsen said when he turned around to check on his friends, the man snatched the clarinet and walked out the front door.
Security footage shared with KING 5 appears to confirm those details.
"I just feel really sad about it. I'm not even mad, I'm just sad," Prinsen said.
Prinsen is seen on video chasing after the man, who the shop opener said got into the passenger side of a getaway card before speeding out of the parking lot along Tacoma Mall Boulevard.
"Five seconds ahead is all you need to jump into the passenger seat, slam the door and take off. I couldn't do anything at that point," he said.
The Tacoma Police Department confirmed officers took a report and detectives are looking into the theft.
Prinsen opened the store at the site of a former Advanced Audio store last November.
"It took everything I had to do this and everything I didn't have," he said of the business venture.
Aside from trying to get the store off and running, Prinsen has a series of performances this weekend, capped by a concert on Monday.
"Hopefully, there's more good karma than bad, and it will find its way home," he said.
This is the second time Prinsen has fallen victim to theft.
In 2018, a set of two clarinets were stolen from his vehicle in a smash-and-grab. They were sentimental gifts from his grandparents.
He never got them back.
Hoping this story turns out better than the last time, Prinsen is offering an unspecified reward for the safe return of his clarinet.