Kardashian Robbed By Police Impersonators
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was held at gunpoint and robbed by men dressed as police officers in her private apartment in Paris, said French officials.
The news broke after Kardashian-West’s husband Kanye West abruptly left his concert in Meadows Festival in New York on Sunday night due to a “family emergency.” The Meadow’s official Twitter page confirmed that West would not be returning to finish the show.
A spokesperson for Kardashian-West said the mother of two was “badly shaken but physically unharmed” following the incident.
According to the French Interior Ministry, five men threatened the apartment building’s concierge with a weapon, handcuffed him and forced him to open the private apartment.
Paris prosecutors said two men gained access to Kardashian-West’s room and held a gun to her head. She was then tied up, gagged and locked in the bathroom while the men took two cell phones and jewelry worth millions of dollars, said the Interior Ministry.
The prosecutor’s office said a ring that was worth an estimated $4.49 million and jewelry worth worth about $5.6 million were among the stolen items.
Kardashian-West was in France with her mom, Kris Jenner, and sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner for Paris Fashion Week. She had been staying at a private mansion in Paris, according to BFM TV, when the incident occurred.
No one was injured during the robbery and the French Interior Ministry said the men did not fire their weapons. Right now it is unclear whether Kardashian-West’s family, including her two young children, were present at the time of attack.
After speaking with police, Kardashian-West left France later Monday.
Leading Up To The Incident
A few hours prior to the robbery, Kardashian-West had attended the Givenchy runway show where her sister Kendall was walking. Earlier in the week she had been rushed by prankster, Vitalii Sediuk, who tried to kiss her rear end. Sediuk, who has pranked celebrities such as Bradley Cooper, Will Smith and Gigi Hadid, was immediately tackled to the ground by Kardashian-West’s bodyguard.
How This Affects France
Tourism has been down in France since a series of major terrorist attacks so this incident brought unwanted attention to the country. After the attacks in Paris and the Mediterranean City, France remains under a state of emergency.
“This is a very rare occurrence that took place in a private space, and in no way does it call into question the work of our police or the security of our public spaces,” Ms. Hidalgo, the mayor, said per the New York Times. “It is possible to visit the French capital and enjoy all it has to offer in secure conditions.”
With presidential elections scheduled for next year the robbery quickly became political for Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party.
High profile crimes are not uncommon in France. In 2013 a thief robbed a hotel in Cannes on the Riveria and made off with tens of millions of dollars in jewelry. In 2014 the Place Vendome was hit by a series of smash-and-grab robberies and just last year thieves assaulted two armored vans and made off with jewelry worth an estimated $10 million.
