Police: 12-Year-Old Long Island Girl Finds Intruder In Her Bedroom
ELMONT, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A burglar came face-to-face with a child when he burst into a home on Long Island over the weekend.
The 12-year-old, whose mother asked CBS 2 not to identify, spoke to reporter John Slattery on Tuesday.
"I didn't expect to walk into my room to a guy standing behind my door," she said.
The very poised young girl lives in a home in Elmont, where she turned on the light in her room late Sunday night and saw someone behind the door.
"I'm like, I don't know this person so I screamed and my window was wide open so I ran downstairs to go get my mother," the girl said, adding that when she returned, "He was gone."
He left through the rear bedroom window that he'd entered, apparently with $10 from the girl's purse, and jewelry, Slattery reported.
"It's so… it's like a violation, because you should feel safe in your own home and you just can't," the girl said.
She told Nassau County police the intruder was a black man, who was about 6-foot-2 and wearing camouflage pants.
Her mother, who also asked not to be identified, said she figures they were targeted because of the open window.
"We have no idea who it was. We're a little shaken up, that's about it," the mother said.
The incident rattled an otherwise peaceful neighborhood.
"It's very dangerous and very scary," neighbor Astor Concepcion said, adding there had recently been a series of petty crimes in the area.
Like all such frightening incidents, it's got neighbors thinking about adding security. This case is especially troubling, with the victim being a 12-year-old girl.
Police always want to remind you that in the summer, first-floor windows left open are a risk, Slattery reported.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
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