Kim Kardashian's Paris trauma: What we know

The charmed life of Kim Kardashian took a disastrous turn late Sunday when she was tied up, threatened with a gun and robbed of an estimated millions in jewelry by armed and masked assailants in Paris where she was attendingParis Fashion Week.

The news rocketed around the world Monday, sending Twitter into a horrified swoon and her husband, Kanye West, rushing from a stage in the middle of a concert in New York to deal with a "family emergency."

Here's what we know so far about what happened and how the situation may unfold in the next few days:

What's the official statement from Kardashian?

A source familiar with the situation but unauthorized to speak publicly said in a statement that two armed men, dressed up as police officers and wearing masks, entered her hotel room and held her up. The incident left the reality-TV star "badly shaken but physically unharmed," according to the statement.

Where is Kardashian now?

She left Paris Monday morning a few hours after the incident, and flew to Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. From there she traveled in a motorcade to her apartment building in downtown Manhattan, where there was a heavy security presence, according to the Associated Press.

Where were her children?

Daughter North, 3, and son Saint, 10 months, were not with Kardashian at the time, according to People and The Telegraph.

What do the French police say?

The five assailants escaped on bicycles and are still at large. They stole a jewelry box containing valuables worth nearly $7 million as well as a ring worth $4.5 million.

On Tuesday, Parisian police told the Associated Press that they were studying surveillance camera footage in an effort to identify the thieves, who wore fake police emblems on their jackets.

Who will head the investigation?

It will be led by the French police's Brigade de Repression du Banditisme (BRB).

Emmanuelle LaChaussee, a spokeswoman for the French Embassy in Washington, described the investigators as a "high-level" police unit of armed-robbery specialists. She said it's too early to say how the investigation will proceed.

Was Kardashian targeted by the "Pink Panthers" gang?

The BRB is involved in investigating the so-called "Pink Panthers" gang of jewel thieves, considered the largest, most successful gang of jewel thieves in the world according to a 2014 report on CBS's 60 Minutes, which credited the gang with more than 370 heists worth $500 million.

Elements of the Kardashian robbery are similar to the MO of the Pink Panthers, who got their nickname from the British tabloids after a 2003 London robbery when a thief hid a diamond in a pot of beauty cream — as in the plot of one of the Pink Panther movies from the 1970s, about a doltish French detective played by Peter Sellers.

The gang is a network of loosely organized teams of robbers throughout Europe and made up mostly of former soldiers of Yugoslavia who fought in the Bosnian wars of the 1990s, the 60 Minutes report said. The gang is known for its speed, minimal violence and careful planning, casing targets carefully and gaining entry through a ruse (such as dressing as police officers).

How might thieves have known Kardashian was there with jewelry and alone?

Kardashian often advertises where she is and shows off her baubles on her social media accounts. In recent days, she posted pictures of a huge ring on Twitter and Instagram.

Johanna Primevert, chief spokeswoman for the Paris police department, said Kardashian's social media profile — she has more than 48 million followers on Twitter alone — did her no favors.

"It was really the celebrity who was targeted, with possessions that had been seen and noticed via social media, and it was these goods that the attackers targeted," she told the Associated Press.

How did the robbers get in?

Police said the thieves entered the 19th-century luxury residence after the concierge let them in around 2:30 a.m. local time. Handcuffed and at gunpoint, the concierge led them to Kardashian's apartment.

Where was her security?

Kardashian is often surrounded by bodyguards, but no security was present at the apartment, according to People and The Daily Mail. .

Her bodyguard, Pascal Duvier, helped protect Kardashian last week when a serial celebrity accoster, the so-called "Ukrainian prankster," attempted to assault her as she was entering a restaurant. She wasn't hurt.

Only hours before the robbery, Kardashian posted a picture of him on Instagram, joking, "This guy is always in my shot."

Her security was increased after she was attacked outside of a Paris Fashion Week show in 2014. She wasn't hurt.

Kim Kardashian tackled outside Balmain show in Paris

What psychological effect could this experience have on Kardashian?

Kardashian, understandably, would have been terrified having a gun pointed at her.

In coming weeks, she could experience a certain amount of post-traumatic stress, says Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University and co-author of The Narcissism Epidemic, which looks at the rise of the personality trait in the last few decades, in part due to celebrities and the influence of social media.

“After an incident like this, many people begin to re-evaluate their priorities,” Twenge says. “If she reacts the way most people would, she might focus more on what we call intrinsic values - family, friends and community - rather than extrinsic values such as money, fame and image.”

Episodes of depression also could follow such a terrifying experience, she says.

“We know from tons of research that therapy works, that people who get therapy get better faster and it’s more long-lasting,” she says. “Experiences like this are obviously traumatic for anyone, but it’s the type of experience where therapy would have a good effect… It would be fantastic if one of the lessons here was that when you experience a traumatic event, therapy can be helpful.”

Contributing: Elena Berton, The Associated Press