Kim Kardashian has been a regular fixture in the headlines for over a decade, and while many of the stories are over somewhat trivial matters like Kim’s bafflingly popular swim gloves or the bikini pic posts that followed her breakup with Pete Davidson, things got really serious in 2016, when Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in Paris. The celebrity was reportedly handcuffed in a bathtub as thieves stole over $10 million in valuables. Twelve people ended up being arrested for the crime, and one of them has spoken out about how he got caught and if he feels bad for the emotional trauma he caused Kardashian.
Yunis Abbas spoke with VICE news about using social media to gain information about Kim Kardashian’s whereabouts and the expensive jewelry in her possession ahead of her trip to Paris Fashion Week in 2016. He detailed how they tied up the concierge before going up to her hotel room, where she was alone while her sisters Kendall Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian (as well as Kim’s bodyguard) partied at a nearby club. He said they were able to get away when Kardashian’s assistant called 911, rather than the European emergency number 112. So how did he get caught? He explained:
Because I left my DNA when I overpowered the guard. So I took his hands, I tied him up, and by doing so, I left my DNA. As I already had a record, it was very easy to trace me.
Yunis Abbas and 11 other people were arrested in connection with the robbery, and he served 22 months in prison before being released for health reasons. Abbas attempted to capitalize on the situation further by publishing a memoir about the crime called I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian. While acknowledging that the reality star was surely traumatized by the group’s actions, he doesn’t have any regrets about what he did, saying:
Since [Kim Kardashian] was throwing money away, I was there to collect it, and that was that. Guilty? No, I don’t care. I don’t care.
The aftermath of the tragic incident was documented on the famous family’s longtime E! show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, and Kim Kardashian said that she was definitely changed by the events of October 3, 2016. She said the robbery made her more aware of what information she shared on social media and the items she brought with her when she traveled.
Security certainly isn’t something the family has taken lightly since then. The SKIMS founder was forced to file a restraining order in May against an obsessed man who sent Kim Kardashian more than two dozen letters that included violent threats, sexual comments and repeatedly talked about killing her then-boyfriend Pete Davidson.
The Kardashians have been in the spotlight for the better part of two decades, and as they share so much of their lives on TV, the 2016 robbery proved there are people who will take advantage of that vulnerability. Everyone in the family has likely learned safer ways to keep their fans in the know, so we can continue to see what’s going on in their lavish lives via The Kardashians, available with a Hulu subscription. Catch the Season 2 premiere on Thursday, September 22, and check out our 2022 TV Schedule to keep up with your other favorite shows’ premiere dates.
