Gwladys Laffitte with AFP
modified to
6:06 p.m., May 05, 2022
Four helmeted and masked people, at least one of whom was carrying an assault rifle, robbed a luxury Chanel watch and jewelry store on Thursday afternoon, near Place Vendôme, in the heart of Paris, a-t- we learned from the police. The four fled with a scooter and a motorcycle, the same source added, adding that there were no injuries. The banditry repression brigade (BRB), seized of the investigation, went on the spot, announced in a tweet the Paris police headquarters.
Armed robbery committed by several individuals in a business rue de la Paix. The perpetrators fled on two wheels.
The Banditry Repression Brigade goes to the scene. pic.twitter.com/CUoiJieHW3— Prefecture of Police (@prefpolice) May 5, 2022
The robbery was filmed by a surfer who posted his video on social networks. We clearly see four people dressed in black, helmeted and hooded. Three come out of the shop, while the fourth on his motorbike has an assault rifle slung over his shoulder. Two leave on a scooter, the other two on the motorbike. Both gears are black in color.
Shop robbery #chanel with a long gun,
place vendôme, a few meters from the ministry
of the #justice ! pic.twitter.com/0O4mOiQjmx— PN ALLIANCE (@alliancepolice) May 5, 2022
The rue de la Paix cordoned off
The luxury boutique is located rue de la Paix, not far from Place Vendôme, known for its renowned jewelers. Shortly after the events, the rue de la Paix was cordoned off by a security cordon and police personnel were distributed in front of the shop, the metal curtain of which was down, noted an AFP journalist.
Anastasia Martino, 26, a saleswoman in a costume store located opposite the Chanel store, told AFP that it was around “2:30 p.m.” when the robbery took place. “I was smoking a cigarette before my lunch when I saw a lonely man with a Kalashnikov on a motorbike.” “Two minutes later three more men came out with big black bags. They also had automatic weapons and got on two motorbikes (in total) and left very quickly,” she added.
“Not from the pros”
For 31-year-old Cyril Ngo, supervisor in the same store as the young woman, it was “not pros, because it lasted a good ten minutes”. “There are even people who crossed in front of the lookout without realizing that he was armed,” he continued. “A customer warned us. We immediately called the police, who did not believe us. We had to call back, he said, so that they take us seriously and intervene”.
The amount of the loot was not communicated in the middle of the afternoon. According to information from Europe 1, at this stage of the investigation and according to a very provisional assessment, the estimated damage is beyond one million euros. “No truncheons, no shots, no injuries. A very professional team. Clean,” we learned.