Kanye West doesn't often smile for the paparazzi—and on Monday, he had less of a reason to do so. Dressed in street clothes, the solemn rapper stepped out in New York City, less than 12 hours after he abruptly canceled his set during the Meadows Music and Arts Festival. At the time, he cryptically told the audience, "I'm sorry, family emergency—I have to stop the show."
Fans soon learned why Kanye cut his set short 20 minutes early: his wife, Kim Kardashian, had been robbed at gunpoint in Paris. E! News has confirmed that five men wearing ski masks and police jackets were involved in the robbery about 3 a.m. local time. Two men entered her room at No Address Hotel, bound her hands and feet with tape, then locked her in the bathroom. The bandits stole $10 million worth of jewelry and other personal effects before fleeing the scene on bikes. Needless to say, Kim was terrified. As a source told E! News, "She begged for them to let her live and [said] she has babies at home…She thought they were for sure going to kill her."
Kim's children, daughter North West, 3, and son Saint West, 9 months, were not in the room.
After the incident, Kim's rep told E! News she was "badly shaken but physically unharmed." The star of Keeping Up With the Kardashians was reportedly was interviewed by police before she got on a private jet plane to the United States. Kanye will reportedly meet his wife in New York.
Meanwhile, the five men involved in the robbery are still at large.
Kim had been a fixture during Paris Fashion Week, where Kanye joined her until Wednesday. Her mother, Kris Jenner, and sister, Kourtney Kardashian, joined her at several shows. Kim's younger sister, supermodel Kendall Jenner, cut her work trip short, leaving Paris early Monday.
Kanye is scheduled to perform Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia; as of press time, the show will go on as planned. He also has concerts scheduled in Detroit, Chicago and Minneapolis through Nov. 1. In light of recent events involving his wife, E! News has reached out to the rapper's rep to see if he will honor the dates or postpone them until further notice.
Before Kanye left his apartment Monday, his team warned photographers that "security is tight" and "they are going to be tough with anyone getting near them," a source tells E! News. Though the "Ultralight beam" rapper will usually banter with the paparazzi, "He looked straight ahead and just got into his car...He looked like he got sucker punched."
Meanwhile, E! released a statement Monday, saying, "All of us at E! are incredibly thankful that Kim Kardashian West is safe, and we send her and her family our love and support. Keeping Up with the Kardashians was not filming at the time of the robbery. Our focus right now is entirely on Kim's well-being."