Kim Kardashian West robbed of millions by Paris gunmen

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Kim KardashianImage source, Reuters
Image caption,

Kardashian was staying at a discreet luxury residence in Paris when the robbery occurred

US reality TV star Kim Kardashian West has been robbed at gunpoint at a luxury residence in Paris by at least two men dressed as police officers, her publicist and police say.

A box containing jewellery worth up to €6m (£5.2m; $6.7m) was among items taken, a police spokesman said.

The concierge led the gunmen to the residence where they tied Kardashian West up in the bathroom, police said.

A spokeswoman for the star said she was "badly shaken but physically unharmed".

The mother-of-two - who became a household name thanks to the reality series Keeping up with the Kardashians - has now left France, flying out of a Paris airport aboard a private jet.

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Police outside the crime scene. The robbers reportedly escaped on bicycles

A police source has told the BBC the attack was carried out by five men, wearing police-style jackets, who forced the building's overnight security guard to show them where Kardashian West was staying.

Once inside, one of the men put a gun to her head while they robbed her of jewellery including a ring worth €4m, then tied her up and locked her in a bathroom while they escaped.

According to the police officer, the men fled the scene on bicycles.

Media caption,

Kanye West halts a concert after hearing that his wife Kim Kardashian has been robbed at gunpoint

They also stole a box of jewellery worth as much as €6m (£5.2m/$6.7m), AP reported, citing police officials.

The star's spokeswoman, Ina Treciokas, told CNN the robbery had been carried out by masked men with guns. Police sources told the Associated Press news agency that they were seeking five assailants, two of whom had forced their way into the house.

The robbery took place at about 02:30 local time (00:30 GMT), police said.

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Media caption,

Prank or assault? Vitalii Sediuk defends his actions

Kardashian West's husband, the rapper Kanye West, was on stage at the Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York at the time of the robbery. He abruptly ended his set, telling fans: "I'm sorry, family emergency. I have to stop the show."

Kardashian West stayed at the luxury residence, in a discreet building behind the city's Madeleine church, with several secret entrances, at least once before, in 2014 before her marriage to West.

A stay can cost as much as €15,000 a night.

TV host James Corden criticised those making light of the incident. He tweeted: "People making jokes about Kim Kardashian tonight would do well to remember that she's a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend. Be nice or shut up."

It is unclear if the couple's two children, three-year-old daughter North and 10-month-old son Saint, were at the home at the time. Police were guarding the site on Monday.

The star was in Paris for the city's fashion week with her mother Kris Jenner and her sister Kendall Jenner.

Last week she was approached by a prankster who tried to kiss her bottom but was stopped by a bodyguard.

Kardashian West first rose to fame as a friend and stylist to Paris Hilton. She later appeared in her own reality programme, Keeping up with the Kardashians, about her family.