A shocking viral video captured the moment a brazen teenager stole a Chicago street performer’s tip jar in broad daylight while the musician was in the middle of singing for a crowd downtown.
Andrew David was performing Perfect by Ed Sheeran Monday afternoon outside the One North State building in Chicago’s busy business district when the theft happened.
Video shows the masked teen, dressed in a gray hoodie, hanging around David’s setup and appearing to wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Then, without warning, the teen suddenly grabbed the cash-filled donation box and took off running down the street.
“Apparently it’s one of those days,” David captioned the now-viral video, which has already racked up nearly 3 million views on Instagram.
WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW:
The longtime street musician later revealed the theft wasn’t even the first time he had been targeted while performing.
David, who has spent about 10 years busking on Chicago streets, said the stolen box itself meant more to him than the roughly $100 inside it.
“Right after he picked up the box… I grabbed my microphone and said, ‘Could you at least bring the box back?’” David said afterward.
“I wasn’t gonna chase down a kid.”
Thankfully, a good Samaritan later recovered the missing donation box and returned it to him.
After rewatching the footage, David realized the teen had reportedly been lurking nearby for around 10 minutes before making his move.
“They had kind of already walked by when they got out of school and made some comments, but nothing happened then,” David later explained.
Once the clip exploded online, officials at a nearby high school reportedly identified the teenager from the viral footage.
According to David, the school principal personally contacted him to make things right and even met with him the next morning to return the stolen money.
The musician said the principal also gave him a tour of the school and showed him the resources available to students there.
The teen’s mother reportedly reached out as well to apologize for her son’s actions, telling David this was not the kind of behavior she expected from him.
Despite the shocking theft, David says he does not plan to press charges against the teenager.
Instead, he hopes the humiliating viral moment becomes a life lesson.
“I just hope that all this attention and social media can make it a learning experience for him,” David said.
Hope the kid learned a lesson! He got a break this time.