What began as a routine performance in one of the busiest streets of Chicago quickly turned into a tragic incident for street performer Andrew David after he was robbed in broad daylight.
The singer was busking outside the One North State building on Monday afternoon, singing Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect,” when a teenager wearing a grey hoodie and a black face mask swooped in, grabbed his donation box, and sprinted out.
The shocking moment was captured on video and spread rapidly across social media. It garnered massive attention online with over 3 million views after David posted it on Instagram.
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David revealed that after reviewing the robbery video, he realized that the teen had been lurking in the area for about 10 minutes and had waited for the right opportunity before taking the cash-filled tip box and committing the crime. He said:
“They had kind of already walked by when they got out of school and made some comments, but nothing happened then.”
David has been performing on the streets for about 10 years, and this isn’t the first time he has been robbed. He told Fox 32:
“This isn’t necessarily the first time I’ve been robbed.”
According to the NY Post, he had about $100 in cash inside the donation box, yet losing the donation box stung him more than the money. He shared:
“Right after he picked up the box… I grabbed my microphone and said, ‘Could you at least bring the box back?’
I wasn’t gonna chase down a kid.”
A bystander later returned the box to him.
Interestingly, as the video went viral, it reached the teenager’s school officials as well. The school principal identified the student, contacted David personally to apologize, and reimbursed him for the money. He said:
“The principal reached out to me this morning…She gave me a tour of the school and highlighted all the resources that the kids have.”
The teen’s mother also reached out to David to apologize and said that theft is “not the type of behavior she expects from her son.”
“His mother reached out to me, and she was really nice and apologetic. Hopefully, there’s a lesson learned at the end of the day.”
Despite the attention surrounding the incident, David does not intend to press charges. Instead, he hopes that this becomes a teaching moment for the teen.
“I just hope that all this attention and, like, social media, like, can just make it a learning experience for him.”
