'They're taking your car': Woman recounts brazen home break-in, car theft in Mercer County

EAST WINDSOR TWP., N.J. (WPVI) -- Police in Mercer County are investigating a brazen home break-in and car theft that happened over the weekend.

It was around 5 a.m. Saturday when the alarms were set off at a home on Wendover Road in East Windsor Township.

Two suspects were seen on surveillance video lurking around the back of the home, seemingly looking for a way in.

"We heard the alarm, the ADT alarm, and the window breaking at the same time," said the victim, who wanted to remain anonymous.

The victim said she and her family moved to the house just a few months ago.

She told Action News that while the suspects broke a window around the back, they entered the house through a different window that had a broken lock.

The victim says she called 911 from inside her locked bedroom, where she hid with her mom.

"I could hear from upstairs they were running in the house, throwing stuff," she recalled.

Interior surveillance video shows the suspects walking around the house with a flashlight and eventually walking out with the woman's purse, which had her BMW keys inside.

"My mom was like, 'They're taking your car.' And I said, 'Let them take the car.' I just hoped they wouldn't come upstairs because, at that time, all we were hoping for was that they don't have guns," the woman said.

Video shows the suspects driving away in the white BMW X7. The car they arrived in was also seen driving away.

Police arrived at the scene minutes after the suspects left.

The victim said within one minute of the theft, the tracking system in the car had been deactivated.

"I called BMW to see if they can track the car. They couldn't track it either," she noted.

She says the car can be replaced, but their peace of mind has been shattered.

"We're not sleeping," she said. "We're not able to sleep. Every night now all three of us - literally - every hour we just go downstairs and check everything."

The family says they will push for more street lamps in their neighborhood.

Data shows car thefts are up in recent years both in New Jersey and across the country, though car thefts are trending down so far this year in East Windsor Township.

Anyone with information on this theft should contact East Windsor police.