Kim Kardashian West has built her celebrity on giving the public a sense that they are getting total access to her life. But since an early Monday morning robbery in Paris, in which thieves held Kardashian West at gunpoint and stole more than $10 million (Dh36.7 million) in jewellery, the reality TV star has been noticeably silent on her usually hyperactive social media accounts.
In the absence of updates from Kardashian West herself, plenty of theories and details are floating around about what happened in the luxury apartment where she was staying. TMZ, citing “sources involved in the case,” published an article on Tuesday morning reporting that investigators and Kardashian West’s family believe someone must have tipped off the robbers as to when Kardashian West would be alone and “the right time to strike.”
Here’s a rundown of what we know, and don’t know, about the incident:
- How did the thieves get in?
Authorities on Tuesday are still looking for five suspects they say were involved in the robbery. Two of the men, dressed as officers and wearing masks, broke into the apartment, according to the Associated Press.
Kardashian West had been staying at a discreet mansion with nine luxury apartments frequented by celebrities. The concierge let the two men in about 2.30am. Handcuffed and held at gunpoint, the concierge led the thieves to Kardashian’s apartment, the Associated Press reported.
- Was she hurt?
Kardashian West was “badly shaken, but physically unharmed,” her spokeswoman said in a statement to CNN. (The outlet first reported the incident.)
She was bound, forced into a bathtub and had her mouth covered with tape, CNN reported. A source told US Weekly that Kardashian feared for her life and told the robbers, who did not speak English, that she was a mother.
- What did they take?
The thieves stole more than $10 million worth of jewellery. That includes a ring worth an estimated $4.49 million and other items worth $5.6 million, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
A police source told Agence France-Presse that two phones were also stolen.
As Reuters pointed out, Kardashian West was not wearing the 15-carat diamond engagement ring Kanye West gave to her in 2013 when she returned to her Manhattan apartment on Monday.
- Isn’t she always surrounded by people?
Not at the time of the incident. Social media posts hours before the incident showed Kardashian West at Paris Fashion Week events. Her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, was not at the apartment. (He was reportedly protecting Kardashian West’s sisters at a nightclub).
TMZ published new details on Tuesday. According to the outlet, Kardashian West was in bed when she saw at least one masked man and tried to call her bodyguard before her phone was snatched away. TMZ and E! News both report that Kardashian West’s stylist locked herself in a bathroom downstairs when she heard the commotion and texted the bodyguard and one of Kardashian West’s sisters.
She reportedly reached and alerted police, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, according to AP.
“The events that occurred in Paris was one of the most sickening things I have seen or heard,” Duvier said in a statement to the Daily Mail. “We have tips and leads and we will find you. That I promise you ... you messed with the wrong one.”
- Were the television cameras rolling?
No. “Keeping Up with the Kardashians was not filming at the time of the robbery,” reads a statement from E! “Our focus right now is entirely on Kim’s well-being.”
- Where was Kanye West and their children?
Kardashian West’s husband, West, was in the middle of performing at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York when he abruptly said: “I’m sorry, family emergency. I have to stop the show,” according to video from the show.
West was with Kardashian West as she returned to the couple’s Manhattan apartment on Monday. He has since postponed two Saint Pablo tour dates this week “due to family concerns,” according to Live Nation. The tour will resume on Friday in Chicago.
CNN reported that the couple’s children, North and Saint, were in New York at the time of the incident.
- Do people have any conspiracy theories?
Yup. They range from the incident’s being a publicity stunt to boost Keeping Up With the Kardashians ratings to it being the work of the notorious Pink Panther jewel thieves.
Police officials declined to comment to the AP on the Pink Panther connection, saying “that would be speculation,” according to the outlet. And the Paris prosecutor’s office likewise did not answer questions as to whether the thieves were tipped off or helped by someone within Kardashian West’s entourage.
- What’s her family saying?
Nothing. Nearly the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan has gone silent on social media. Caitlyn Jenner posted an Instagram photo of her and daughter Kylie Jenner after news broke of the robbery. Kylie Jenner also posted some tweets about her cosmetic line and partnership with a nonprofit, but they may have been previously scheduled.
