Officials in Wellington announced on Saturday that a New Zealand diplomat had been involved in a “security incident” in Paris. There had been rumors that the diplomat had been battered and robbed at home.
“We can confirm that there has been a security incident involving a New Zealand Embassy staff member in Paris,” a spokesperson for New Zealand’s foreign ministry said in a statement.
“The Embassy is supporting the staff member involved and is cooperating with French authorities. We are not commenting further out of respect for our staff member’s privacy.”
The unidentified embassy employee’s condition was not disclosed.
The Times of London reports that on Thursday afternoon, two men broke into the Paris apartment of a 34-year-old ambassador and attacked him.
Before his attackers fled in a car with stolen license plates, it is said that they tied him up, struck him in the face with a pistol, and stole his belongings.
The New York Times said that an inquiry is underway into the robbery that occurred in Paris’s affluent seventh arrondissement, which is home to many of the city’s most well-known landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower.
