Kim Kardashian was “bound and gagged” in a Paris hotel on Sunday evening while being held up at gunpoint by five armed men dressed as policemen. While the hotel itself is known for its discretion when hosting celebrities, one has to wonder exactly how the thieves tracked down Kardashian’s exact location. The Kardashians have publicly expressed anxiety that Snapchat could be revealing their locations in the past.
Let’s start with the facts. The reality TV star was in the city for Paris Fashion Week and staying at her and Kanye West’s private residence in the Hotel de Pourtalès. Kardashian spent her evening at a Givenchy event and was apparently alone in her room when the assailants dressed as police officers forced the concierge to open the door to her room. Then, the thieves put a gun to Kardashian’s head before they bound and gagged her and put her in the bathtub. The masked men then stole more than $10 million in jewelry including a wedding ring purchased by West. After they left, Kardashian was able to free herself and call for help. The thieves remain at large.
This was a obviously a well-planned heist. According to the New York Post, the robbers barged into Kim and Kanye’s private residence and “knew exactly what room” the actress was in. It’s been known for some time that Kim and Kanye frequent their residence at the Pourtalès but updates to her social media appear to show her there on the night of the robbery.
For instance, when she was preparing for the Givenchy show on Sunday evening, Kardashian posted a series of Instagram stories for Vogue magazine. These include videos of her getting ready in her Hotel de Pourtalès residence:
We know that this is in the Hotel de Pourtalès, because of the unique windows in the background. A simple Google search reveals that the rooms inside the hotel feature the same windows.
Kardashian also posted more videos from the residence on Facebook during the course of the evening:
And Kardashian sent several snaps from the residence over the past few days:
One of Kim’s last snaps of the evening happened about 2:30am, Paris time, around about the same time the Associated Press says the robbery occurred. The snap showed her talking on the phone with Blac Chyna.
It’s important to note that none of the posts to any social media were geo-tagged— they did not specifically declare where she was when she posted them.
Previously that same day, Kardashian posted a photo to Instagram which joked that her bodyguard Pascal Duvier was always always in her shots. People reports that Duvier was escorting her sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner at a club when the robbery occurred.
Of course, being a celebrity, it’s likely Kardashian was followed all over Paris by paparazzi, but it’s unclear whether her residence is a well-known stakeout place for the paps. Back in 2014, a Twitter stalker account identified the address of Kim and Kanye’s Parisian apartment as 7 Rue Tronchet, the same address as L’Hotel de Pourtalès. The architect who designed the building has also published detailed descriptions of the layout and interior.
For now, we can only speculate on who the jewelry thieves are and how they coordinated their attack. However, it’s simply frightening to realize how much data celebrities and even your mom is making public. We’ll update this story as more information about the crime becomes available.