A Montclair woman is happy to be alive to tell her story and to remind her neighbors to stay vigilant after she sprang into action and scared away two would-be robbers.
"I screamed, ‘I’m grabbing the gun,’ and I ran towards them, and they fled down the stairs,” the homeowner said.
A longtime Montclair resident spoke to News 12 New Jersey anonymously about her encounter with the home invaders.
"I woke up to a flashlight in my bedroom and I thought it was my son and then I saw there were two men with hoodies,” she said.
Chilling Ring doorbell camera video captured the moments the two hooded intruders attempted to go into the woman’s Montclair home. It later shows the two running from the home after the run-in with the homeowner. It all happened around 5 a.m. Monday. The woman immediately called 911.
"It was very terrifying, but I think very quickly in shock mode and thank God, and they got scared and left. I called the police…Montclair Police Department was here within five minutes,” she said.
As New Jersey continues to see a recent uptick in home burglaries, home invasions and car thefts, residents continue to tighten up security around their homes.
Arielle Chan, 18, says the recent news is scary.
“My mom is very paranoid enough so she’s always making sure that I lock all the doors and check all the windows,” Chan said.
Idil Bilgin is a long-time Montclair resident.
"The alarms are on all the time now. We’re double-checking our cars. It’s very unnerving...For the past three years, it’s become more and more common,” Bilgin said.
Home invasions seem to be trending not only in Montclair but in neighboring towns like Verona and Clifton, whose police departments have all issued warnings to residents to secure their homes and their belongings.
"We have more lights being installed in the back. I have more cameras. I just pray that they’re caught, and they stop,” the homeowner said.
Anyone who might have any information about the incident is urged to call Montclair police at 973-744-1234.