Stradivarius violin stolen in armed robbery

The rare violin was on loan to concertmaster Frank Almond. The robber used a stun gun on Almond and took the instrument from him shortly before 10.30pm on Monday in a parking lot in the rear of Wisconsin Lutheran College, where Almond had just performed, said police chief Edward Flynn.
Flynn said the violin was valued in the "high seven figures", the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Investigators believed the instrument, known in musical circles as the "Lipinski" Stradivarius, was the primary target, the chief said.
As Almond lay on the pavement the robber fled to a nearby vehicle, described as a maroon or burgundy minivan driven by an accomplice, which then left the scene, Flynn said.
In a 2008 Journal Sentinel story Chicago violin dealer Stefan Hersh said the violin's value could be comparable to another Stradivarius that sold for more than $3.5m in 2006.
The instrument, crafted in 1715, was on indefinite loan to Almond from its anonymous owners. Almond has characterised the owners as people with "strong ties to Milwaukee".
The violin's previous owners include the virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini, who was known for his "Devil's Trill" Sonata, and the Polish violinist Karol Lipinski, accordign to The Guardian.
In a 2013 interview Almond explained that the Lipinski was "finicky" about temperature and humidity, responding differently some days than others.
Almond conducted an online campaign to fund A Violin's Life, a recording that memorialised the history of the violin.
In 2010 a Stradivarius was stolen from the musician Min-Jin Kym at Euston train station in London. It was tracked by police and eventually located. The thief, who had tried to sell it for £100, was sent to jail. Last month the instrument sold for £1.38m at auction.