Rapper Kanye West was forced to end his New York City performance earlier than expected after news surfaced that his wife, Kim Kardashian West, was the victim of an armed robbery in Paris.
West, 35, who appeared 30 minutes late for his set at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival on Oct. 2, according to fans via Twitter, abruptly ended his show, citing a “family emergency.”
“I’m sorry I have a family emergency, I have to stop the show,” West told the audience in Queens.
More than 3,600 miles away, five men posing as police officers had handcuffed a concierge at Kardashian’s luxury Paris residence at the 8th arrondissement and ordered him at gunpoint to open her apartment around 3 a.m. local time. The private residence is located near the Madeleine church and is frequented by movie stars and musicians.
Several French news outlets reported that two of the five assailants barged into Kardashian’s dwelling, where they gagged her, placed a gun to her head, tied her up with packing tape, and locked her in the bathroom. They then made off with a jewelry box containing valuables worth $7 million dollars, a ring worth nearly $4.5 million, two cell phones, and a wallet with $1,000 in cash.
Sources told E! News that Kardashian believed the men were going to kill her and pleaded with them to spare her life.
“She begged for them to let her live and (said) she has babies at home,” the source said. “Then they wrapped her mouth in tape and put her in the bathtub.”
It is unclear if Kardashian was loaned the jewelry or if the jewels are from her own personal collection. The couple’s two children, three-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint, were not present during the harrowing incident.
The gunmen fled the scene on bicycles and are still being sought by local police.
“Everything is being done to solve this case and arrest those responsible,” said Paris police, according to The Local France. Special unit officers from the Banditry Repression Brigade (BRB) are investigating the armed heist.
Publicist Ina Treciokas said Kardashian was “badly shaken but physically unharmed” after the incident. Kardashian has since left Paris via a private jet after speaking with investigators.
Kardashian, her sisters Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian, and their mom Kris Jenner were in Paris for Fashion Week. Kim had made several appearances at fashion showings, including Balenciaga and Givenchy on Sunday, and documented the festivities on social media.
In one photo posted to Instagram, she posed with supermodel Naomi Campbell; in another she showcased a diamond ring on her left ring finger. It is unknown if the photographed ring was taken in the home invasion.
Last week, celebrity prankster Vitalii Sediuk attempted to make contact with Kardashian but was thwarted by her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier.
Local politicians fear the the latest incident will deter tourists from visiting Paris.
“We feel for her because what she went through was violent and traumatic. But we also feel for the image of Paris,” said Centre-right presidential hopeful Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet. “What happened to her will be broadcast non-stop on all the news channels around the world. Do you know what kind of bad publicity that will bring?”
“We can have all the marketing we want for Paris, which costs a lot of money. But all this advertising is rendered pointless by what happened to Kim Kardashian,” she added.
The investigation into the robbery is ongoing.
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