Kanye West, across the ocean in New York, abruptly cuts short performance
Kim Kardashian, seen in a May 2016 photo, was shaken up but physically unharmed after the Paris incident, according to her rep. (Andrew Medichini/The Associated Press)
Kim Kardashian West was unharmed after being robbed at gunpoint of more than $10 million US worth of jewelry inside a private Paris residence Sunday night, police officials said.
A spokeswoman for Kardashian West said the reality TV star was “badly shaken but physically unharmed” after masked men dressed as police officers also tied her up in the flat’s bathroom before fleeing the scene.
A Paris police official said five assailants, who were still at large, stole a jewelry box containing valuables worth six million euros ($6.7 million) as well as a ring worth four million euros.
In a message to The Associated Press, the Paris prosecutors’ office said that only two of the five suspects forced their way into the apartment, located in the chic eighth district of the French capital.
With France under a state of emergency following terror attacks that left more than 200 people dead in the last 20 months, news of the robbery immediately sparked criticism from political opponents to the Socialist government.
Police officers stand guard at the entrance to a hotel residence at the Rue Tronchet, near Madeleine, central Paris, early Monday, where U.S. reality television star Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint by assailants disguised as police who made off with millions, mainly in jewelry. (Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)
Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, a right-wing member of Paris council and a potential candidate in next year’s presidential election, said the robbery was proof that “there is a general emergency on security” in the French capital.
“Regardless of all the very expensive advertising we do to promote ‘I Love Paris’ tourism and the image of Paris, all these ads have been brutally cancelled by the Kim Kardashian case,” Kosciusko-Morizet told Europe 1 radio.
Two police officials said the robbers tied up Kardashian West and locked her in the bathroom before escaping on bikes. They were not authorized to be publicly named speaking about ongoing investigations.
Kanye West was performing at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York at the time. He abruptly ended his set Sunday night after telling his fans had a family emergency.
“I’m sorry, family emergency I have to stop the show,” West told the audience.
Kardashian West has been in Paris for fashion week. She attended the Givenchy show Sunday evening.
She was also ambushed last week by a serial celebrity accoster who attempted to assault her as she was entering a restaurant. Kardashian West was also attacked outside of a Paris fashion week show in 2014. She wasn’t hurt in either incident.
Kardashian stayed at the residence near Paris’s Madeleine church. Police said the thieves entered the building after the concierge let them in. Handcuffed and at gunpoint, he then led them to the starlet’s flat.
It’s unclear whether the couple’s two children, three-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint, were with Kardashian West when the robbery happened. Police said the actress’ family was placed under police protection at the George V palace after the incident.
© The Associated Press, 2016
