PORT ANGELES – Colin Bradley has four more quarters to finish at Western Washington University before he earns his undergraduate degree in chemistry.
But this year he’ll be short about $800 for tuition after thieves broke into his fireworks stand in the parking lot of Swain’s General Store in Port Angeles on Tuesday night.
Bradley, 22, has sold fireworks from his blue plywood stand for six years.
He puts the profits aside to pay for tuition and the cost of living as a college student in Bellingham.
The few days of dealing in controlled combustibles nearly covers Bradley’s college costs, he said.
Selling fireworks to finance a chemistry education that could lead him to do explosives research seems fitting, and he plans to keep selling fireworks as he pursues a graduate degree.
The thief, or thieves, cracked a combination lock and unscrewed a board that was blocking the doorway, said Cpl. Kevin Miller of the Port Angeles Police Department.
Bradley was sleeping in a trailer just three parking stalls away, something he does to try to deter would-be thieves.
Roman candles and other pyrotechnics that Bradley had been recommending to customers were missing, as were some top-shelf heavy-duty fireworks.
The selection that is missing makes him think the thief had been a customer and cased the stand earlier.
Miller said there were no clues left behind and that the likelihood of apprehending the thief or thieves was slim.
Bradley said he had written off the loss.
“They’re all going to be blown off tonight. There’s no point,” Bradley said.
“It’s a pretty big hit for a single stand, one-person operation.”
