Paris is considered to be one of the most visited cities in the entire world, it is known to be the City of Love, and is such a romantic destination for everyone. From the biggest celebrities filming a movie to normal people sight-seeing, it is definitely one of the most popular cities in the world. However, despite all of its glory, Paris seems to be having trouble when it comes to their security measures and thieves. In October 2016, reality star and socialite Kim Kardashian West was robbed and was held at gunpoint inside her luxury apartment on Paris’ Roe Tronchet around half past 2 in the morning.
Being in such a luxurious apartment with one of the most famous people staying there, you would think that security would be hectic, turns out it wasn’t. Just over a year after Kardashian’s traumatic experience, the city is facing yet another incident but this time it involves the luxurious Ritz Hotel, and people are starting to think that Paris may become the City of Thieves, continue reading to find out more.
JEWELS WERE STOLEN AT RITZ HOTEL IN PARIS
Looks like the beginning of 2018 is not good for the luxurious hotel of Ritz in Paris, France. The French police said that a gang of thieves has managed to break into the hotel using axes and simply made their way to steal a huge amount of pieces of jewelry that costs around $4.8 million. According to the report, a group of hooded men made their way into the lobby of the said building around 6 pm Wednesday night and went straight to the jewelry cases which is located at the ground floor. The guests of the hotel, who served as the witnesses, were said to be extremely terrified and was forced to take cover when gunshots were heard. Luckily, it didn’t take too long for the French police to arrive which was why they have managed to lock down the entire building, two out of five thieves were immediately arrested but the other two managed to escape, bringing with them some of the jewelry.
In an interview, Paris’ 1st district mayor, Jean-Francois Legaret said that the hotel security successfully triggered their automatic locking system, which is why they were able to trap three out of five thieves inside.
WITNESSES SHARED WHAT THEY SAW HAPPENING
Central Paris is always packed with tourist, so it is incredibly impossible for people not to notice that there was something out of the norm happening at this luxurious hotel. Just like the 21-year-old woman named Niki Lazer, who was a native from Chicago, Illinois, who was at that time having a drink with her parents at the Hemingway Bar of Ritz Hotel. In an interview with CNN, Lazar mentioned how she actually saw a man wearing a ski mask running into the hotel, the masked man came right from the back door of the bar they were at and went it the front with an ax on his hand. Once the man was outside, their bartender immediately locked the doors and windows of the bar and pushed everyone into the back kitchen.
The 21-year-old woman said that they heard about 10 gunshots fired right outside the kitchen that they were all at and once it’s all done she just saw a paramedic tending one of the bartenders.
RITZ JEWELS RECOVERED; TWO SUSPECTS STILL ON THE LOOSE
They were five masked and armed men who got into the luxurious Ritz hotel in Paris that night, but the authorities only managed to arrest three of them because they were trapped due to the automatic alarm system that the hotel has. Two other suspects got away along with other gems and jewels. However, one of the robbers dropped the bag full of gems and watches so the authorities managed to retrieve it. The three that have been captured are actually known very well by the French police since they are considered to be veterans in dealing with high-profile theft.
One of the two suspects that escaped was reported to have abandoned a car that was found in the northern part of the city, while the other was on a motorbike that caused him to drop the bag of jewels after knocking over a pedestrian and driving opposite a one-way street.