An Old Bridge woman says that the battery to her vaping device exploded inside her purse while she was shopping.

The incident happened Sunday, and was caught on the store's surveillance camera. Mara McInerney was at the checkout inside the Sunglass Hut at the Freehold mall when something insider her purse exploded. Thick, black smoke could be seen pouring out of the purse.

"I had the battery in this pocket by itself, and what it did was, it exploded through the pocket," McInerney says. "It charred every single thing, melted every single thing that I had in the bag."

McInerney says that she initially thought that there was some sort of attack in the mall because it was Sept. 11.

She says that she hopes her story serves as a warning to others about the potential dangers of batteries.

"Just knowing that I have my child and my bag in the back seat; my daughter is in the car seat next to it. It's scary and it could happen to anyone," she says.

McInerney says she will work with the store that sold her the battery to find out exactly why and how the battery exploded.