HILLIARD, Fla. — Just days after neighbors opened their doors on Halloween to dozens of strangers, one woman said a stranger helped himself into her Hilliard home uninvited.
In a doorbell camera video from Jami Oates’ home, you see a man walking through her living room using his phone as a flashlight and going through the family’s belongings. He spends time looking around a couch before making his way to a table.
The time stamp shows it happened Tuesday morning just before 6 a.m.
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We asked a neighbor if they typically see police on their street.
“Absolutely not. This is a small, small town,” Christina said.
Christina lives across from the Oates family. She said her son heard a car alarm outside Tuesday morning.
“It was close, so I opened the door and police were coming, and they were all pulling up in front of the driveway,” Christina said.
We asked to speak with Oates about the break-in, but she told us she was too distraught to talk.
On social media, she posted the video, asking neighbors to help identify the man.
She said he eventually came into her bedroom, and she woke up to him standing over her.
“I would have been terrified,” Christina said.
Jami said she did pull out a gun and chase him out, protecting her two children.
Christina said the camera video is eye-opening.
“(I’m) terrified that could be anybody, and knowing that everybody was home and everybody was sleeping,” Christina said.
Another neighbor down the street said she’s never heard of anything like this happening in the 18 years she’s lived here.
“Pretty shocked because this is a pretty safe neighborhood … our doors aren’t locked most of the time,” another neighbor said.
The social media post sparked outrage and shock among all of Nassau County. Hundreds of people shared it in hopes of finding the suspect.
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The Nassau County Sheriff’s Office said the police report could not be released at this time. It also said it’s unable to disclose whether a suspect has been arrested for the break-in.
According to the sheriff’s office records, there have been 102 reported burglaries in Nassau County since the beginning of the year. They also said eight burglaries have been reported in the last 30 days.
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