Armed robbers hit luxury store in Paris reported to be ‘Jeweler to the Stars’

PARIS (AP) — French police were hunting for armed robbers Saturday who hit a jewelry store on one of Paris’ poshest streets, and media reports said the target was the exclusive Harry Winston boutique, self-described “Jeweler to the Stars.”

Paris police said the armed robbers arrived and left on motorbikes, firing a shot outside without causing any casualties. Video broadcast by BFM-TV showed people dressed in black speeding away on two motorbikes.

A store worker who picked up the phone said the jeweler was robbed Saturday but hung up without giving details or his name. The luxury boutique was cordoned off as police investigators went in and out Saturday afternoon. The Paris prosecutor’s office overseeing the investigation gave the robbery location as Avenue Montaigne, where Harry Winston has its dazzling, by-appointment store, but wouldn’t confirm that the jeweler was the target.

Harry Winston didn’t immediately reply to emailed questions from The Associated Press. Neither the police nor the prosecutor’s office said whether the robbers made off with jewels and, if so, how much they were worth. This is not the first time the luxury store has been robbed. Eight people were convicted in 2015 in connection with a spectacular 2008 holdup in which three cross-dressing gunmen stole about $92 million in loot.