CAUGHT ON CAMERA

Thief Smashed Dutch Museum Doors With Sledgehammer to Steal Van Gogh Painting: Video

“The burglar broke through a number of doors and several layers of security that had been approved by security experts,” the Dutch museum’s managing director said.

A new video released on Wednesday shows an audacious thief bashing through the glass doors of a Dutch museum with a sledgehammer and rushing out through the gift shop with Vincent Van Gogh’s masterpiece “The Parsonage Garden at Nuenen in Spring 1884” under his right arm, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. Police shared the footage in hopes that the public will help them catch the culprit, who stole the painting on March 30 while the Singer Laren Museum in The Hague was closed due to the coronavirus. “The burglar broke through a number of doors and several layers of security that had been approved by security experts,” said Singer Laren managing director Evert van Os.

“The footage released does not therefore allow any conclusions to be drawn as to the quality of security at Singer Laren.” Police pointed to the possibility that the thief may have had co-conspirators and said that 56 tips came in from the public after the video was released, according to the AP. “It looks like they very deliberately targeted this one Van Gogh painting,” said Maren Wonder, a police spokeswoman.