DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. – During the past couple weeks the city of Dearborn Heights has been hit hard with home invasions.
The robberies have not been random. Police believe thieves are watching residents' every move before breaking in.
Randa Mojhni left home one morning on Ann Arbor Trail to take her children to school. She returned home 5 minutes later where she found an unfamiliar car in the driveway.
"I went to the backyard. I have a deck there. I look ... the door is open," she said.
Her flat-screen TV, a laptop computer and a camera were near the back door. A burglar was inside the home.
Mojhni didn't back down. She said she put her hands on the man and told him to get out.
"'I'm here. I'm going, I'm going, I'm going,' that's what he said,'" she said.
He fled the home empty-handed.
A neighbor a few doors down has a similar story. Those in the area who have not been hit worry if they will be next.
"I have an alarm but it still doesn't make you feel safe because they can come in armed," said Tamer Alwerfalli, who lives in the area.
The break-ins have been wide-spread. The rate of occurrence is quickly out-pacing last year's numbers.
"Just make it look like somebody is up, because they're coming. This neighborhood is getting really bad," said Alwerfalli.