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REALITY TV STAR Kim Kardashian has jetted home to the United States after she was tied up at gunpoint in Paris and robbed of jewellery worth €9 million.
The multimillionaire mother of two and wife of the American rap superstar Kanye West was holed up at a luxury apartment in New York’s Tribeca neighbourhood today “badly shaken but physically unharmed” by the assault.
In Paris, tourism professionals said such a high-profile incident was disastrous for a city where tourist numbers have declined since jihadist attacks in November killed 130 people.
Meanwhile, the city’s mayor Anne Hidalgo has sought to downplay the robbery, saying it was “a very rare act that happened in a private space”.
Her husband walked off stage during a concert when he learned of the heist, which put renewed focus on security in France, where tourism has taken a hit following a series of high-profile attacks.
He and Kardashian stepped out of the back seat of a car in New York after a convoy bristling with bodyguards pulled up to the apartment block, seen in a video posted on celebrity news website TMZ.
The TV and social media star has yet to speak out about the incident, in which she was, according to French police ”tied up and locked in the bathroom” of a residence in the Madeleine district of Paris, near the city’s main department stores.
The crime occurred at 2:30am local time, yesterday.
Masked men dressed as cops
The robbers made off with a ring worth around €4 million and a case of jewellery with a value of €5 million, a police source said. Two mobile phones were also taken.
Five men were involved, two of whom entered Kardashian’s bedroom in the luxury residence where she has stayed before, police said.
The robbers zip-tied Kardashian’s hands with plastic handcuffs and duct-taped her mouth and ankles, dumping her in the bathtub, TMZ reported.
The robbers allegedly kept saying “ring, ring” and Kardashian told them where to find a new ring given by her husband, TMZ added.
The reality TV star’s spokeswoman said “two armed masked men dressed as police officers” burst into her room. Another member of the gang restrained the building’s security guard during the robbery, police said, adding that the guard was unhurt.
The assailants may have fled on bicycles, investigators say.
The star’s bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, was absent at the time, providing security for Kardashian’s sister Kourtney at a Paris nightclub, an investigation source said.
It is not known whether Kardashian’s two young children were with their mother at the time of the robbery.
Special snowflakes
Kardashian left France on a private jet after being questioned by police about the robbery. She had been in the French capital attending Paris Fashion Week, including catwalk shows by Balenciaga and Givenchy.
Other celebrities leapt to her defense after she was mocked on social media following news of the ordeal.
“People making jokes about @KimKardashian tonight would do well to remember that she’s a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend. Be nice or shut up,” tweeted comedian James Corden, host of CBS’s The Late Late Show.
Model Chrissy Teigen wrote: “Please do not think that I think celebrities are special snowflakes. I just miss empathy, in general, for everyone.”
One of the most recognisable US celebrities, Kardashian has been a fixture of celebrity news for more than a decade after the success of reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
West has announced he’ll be rescheduling two tour dates in the wake of the robbery.
West will no longer perform this evening in Philadelphia or on Thursday in suburban Detroit “due to family concerns,” promoter Live Nation said in a statement.
Reporting by - © AFP 2016, edited by Daragh Brophy
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She was flaunting her obscenely expensive jewellery collection on social media recently. Then she gets robbed.
Ostentatious displays of wealth are vulgar.
Kim Kardashian is vulgar.
The Kardashians are vulgar.
Kayne West is vulgar.
When vulgar people who engage in vulgar displays of wealth on social media get robbed I for one SIMPLY DO NOT CARE.
Actually………..I REJOICE.
@Sam Palmer: haha, nice 1.
@Sam Palmer: okay so your point is what you perceive as vulgarity is worthy of being robbed. How would you feel if she was roughed up? Or shot? How far do you take this? Being ostentatious isn’t a crime. Armed robbery certainly is. In your logic, maybe Justin Beiber should be robbed because he’s robbed all the ‘real artists’ who don’t make jack on Spotify. We have to have laws and you ‘rejoicing’ because of someone getting robbed at gunpoint because you don’t like her style is sick
She wasn’t, so your fake hysteria isn’t warranted.
@Dave McCrea:
Do I look like I care?
Spot on Sam. Obviously it was a well planned and well executed robbery and, like you said, brought on by obsession to flaunt her wealth to the world. Only question I have is how come she didn’t have any bodyguards with her like many “celebs” nowadays have with them 24/7.
@Sam Palmer: Yes
@Sloop John G: ppst. the answer is in the article.
I read that Niamh but she didn’t actually have a bodyguard in Paris, just New York AFTER they returned.
I wouldn’t have a problem with her being shot, as long as it was in the head.
I wouldn’t rejoice in someone elses misfortune however she should be more discreet when it comes to her activity on social media maybe not display her jewellery collection costing millions on twitter I’m sure she has everything insured .
You sure can say that again Sam!
So rare, in fact, as to make some people wonder whether it actually happened.
So she escaped to a safe country with no gun crime
They should try ringing one of the mobiles
Why couldnt Kanye West have been robbed from her,never to be seen again
Let’s hope he did not order jet to take him to Paris before she phoned him oops !!!!
Omg, her tits are the best EVER; can’t believe she had to go through this terror.
Why the big story? Sure kim is used to taking shots in the face.
@dee jayy: Kim likes a good comeback story. https://youtu.be/r-7bVZYy_ds
Ryan Lochte has asked that people respect her family’s privacy
@Matt F:
Hahaha!
Classic.
Inside job? Insurance job?
Unlikely, most likely and this is only a guess but the jewelry was supplied as part of sponsorship so she didn’t own it…..
James Corden scouting for the exclusive interview. I’m sure the pimp/momager is fielding bids and they’ll all make well in excess of $9million out of it.
James Corden is an unfunny knob jockey.
@dee jayy: – That bellend will have her singing a suitably penned robbery karaoke number in his car.
Corden is a suck up. Nothing more. But the yanks will eventually get bored of him and send him packing.
Why was she allowed to leave Paris straight away
lol – nobody cares. Every comment section on every article to date has been people having a go at her.
I can’t believe there are people (if you want to call them that) condoning the robbery of a Mother of two young children who was held at gun point tied up a thrown into a bathroom.
You’re never going to meet her,just move on.
Oh, are you offended? How original.
Robbie#23 you left out the part about her being a complete c#nt too.
Would you like it if it was your mother or sister or wife? whether she’s c##t or not if something went wrong there could have been two small children growing up with no mother.
Oh you’re trying to be sarcastic How sad.
You can dress it up but the success of her reality show isn’t why she’s famous
All the children being slaughtered in Syria and this silly woman is all over the news. God help the human race
Just two things. How did she tell them where the ring was if her gob was taped. And why doesn’t corden just Foff
@Michael G:
Avenues worth exploring Mike.
It’s hard to have an opinion on this one. It’s like the Syrian war. Facts are unclear, who do you believe, black is white, are there really any goods guys here. Are we all being played. Just one thing is clear in both scenarios, the only real innocents are the babies.
@Margie. Black is White and North is West :-)
Real pity she wasn’t stolen with the jewels. A non entity of a person if ever there was one. Who the f.??? cares!
I’m thinking insurance fraud.
@Seth Cheffetz:
The Fraud Squad are the last people Kim Kardashian wants to meet.
her own fault she told everyone where she was, who does that famous rich people only
have your say