NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Five classic violins are now missing from the Violin Shop of Nashville Berry Hill after a thief paid the place a visit.
A broken front door and glass everywhere was the scene Monday morning at the Violin Shop of Nashville.
Despite the mess, it was still business as usual inside.
But before 5:15 a.m. Sunday, an intruder tried to break through the front door with a sledgehammer. When that didn't work, the intruder busted through the window instead.
"They wound up busting the front door's window, climbed in through there with a garbage bag, came immediately to this instrument room here, stole five instruments, went out the back door. It was a matter of 45 seconds maybe, max, that they were in here," said Brandon Godman, the shop owner.
The violins are from Germany and Czechoslovakia dating as far back as the years 1900 to 1930.
"These are instruments that we've purchased and restored, made them sound as good as we can. And we had them out here for sale," said Godman.
Together, all five violins carry a price tag of close to $21,000.
"These are precious instruments in the way that we've put so much time into them, and they're old. I mean, they're gems that have lasted 100 years, and I would hate — as they're carrying them out in a garbage bag — that they sustained injuries that are not fixable," Godman said.
Godman said the situation could have been so much worse.
"I was worried, you know, did they steal the computer? Did they steal the cash box? Did they steal one of the — what could be worse is like, a consignment instrument that belongs to a customer," Godman said. Or could, did they steal repairs? Did they beat up stuff?"
Thankfully, that wasn't the case.
But Godman would love the return of the violins in one piece.
The stolen violins should all be branded with a Violin Shop or The Fiddle Mercantile stamped on the bridges.
The Violin Shop has images of the stolen violins on its Facebookpage.
If you have any information about this or if you see the instruments posted anywhere for sale, please contact The Violin Shop at 615-662-1570, or the Berry Hill Police Department at 615-414-6642.
