A 10-year-old boy managed to run and alert a neighbor when two robbers broke into his New Jersey home and tied up his mother as his sibling watched, police say.
The boy was inside the Brick, N.J. home on Montclair Drive Thursday evening when the two men broke in, according to police. The child ran out and went to a neighbor, who called police.
Responding officers found the boy's mother bound and gagged on the floor, and the boy's younger sibling inside the home. Neither was hurt.
The mother, who owns the home, told police that the robbers were dressed in all black and wearing scarves over their faces, and may have been armed with long guns. The robbers ransacked the home and ran away.
While canvassing the area, police arrested a trespasser several blocks from the home, a man from Neptune, but it's not clear if he was one of the two home invaders.
Neighbors in the quiet neighborhood were upset to learn of the violent intrusion.
"I've been here 38 years, we've never had anything like this happening here," said neighbor Iris Chiesa.
"I need to lock my doors tonight, that's what it makes me think," said another neighbor, Jim Hicks.
Brick police believe they're making progress in their investigation. They won't say if the home was targeted, but Chief Nils Bergquist said he believes the incident is isolated.