，Midtown residents fear for their safety after alleged car thieves captured on video breaking into home to steal key fob
多伦多盗车案件正在急速恶化，现在已经变成半夜破门闯民宅，直接强抢车钥匙。豪宅林立的中城区一些居民就遭遇惊魂一刻：犯罪嫌疑人闯入他们的家，目的只有一个，偷走车钥匙，这样他们就可以直接开走停在房前的车。
CP24.com采访了Yonge和Lawrence街区的三名居民，他们对窃贼在该地区越来越肆无忌惮地抢劫车辆表示担忧。
其中一人分享了一段家庭监控录像，录像显示两名嫌疑人向住宅正门旁的窗户扔砖头，之后进入一所房子。据称，两人一进去就抢了一辆奔驰GLA的钥匙，然后把车开走了。
受害者Meghan说：“我们有摄像头，有灯。他们就站在离摄像头不到一米的地方。他们根本就不害怕。”由于担心自己的安全，CP24隐去了她的姓氏。
“他们没有停下来，他们太厚颜无耻了，一定要抢走我们的车。”
事件发生在9月12日。Meghan回忆说，她和丈夫被一声巨响惊醒，起初他们以为是两个十几岁孩子中的一个。
然而，当她的丈夫下楼去查看发生了什么事时，他看到他们的前门大开着，地板上有碎玻璃。
Meghan说：“然后我们发现车不见了。”
“我们做梦也没想到，有人竟然会直接破门而入找钥匙。”
最近几个月，有几个居民的车因这项新犯罪而被盗，Meghan只是其中之一。据CP24.com了解，警方正在调查另外两起事件，但受影响的居民出于安全考虑拒绝接受采访。
Meghan说：“我们非常害怕，愤怒已经无法表达我的情绪，我们受到了非常非常大的创伤。”
她说，警方通过一个应用程序找到了那辆奔驰车的位置，但只找到了车上的物品，包括追踪器。
Meghan说：“警方认为（嫌疑人）应该是把车停在路边，拆除了GPS，然后把我车里的所有东西都扔了出去，以防有任何类型的无线追踪设备。”
她的车还没有找到。目前还没有人因这起盗窃案被捕。
上个月的抢车事件，并不是Meghan第一次成为偷车贼的目标。2022年，她的吉普牧马人（Wrangler）在车道上被盗。然而，她说，去年车被盗对她的家庭的影响没有这次的盗窃案那么大，因为小偷没有进入他们的家。
Meghan说：“我们以前经历过这种情况，但没有让我害怕，因为车是从车道上被偷走的，这并没有影响到我的家庭。”
“一年后，很明显，这些罪犯变得越来越猖狂了。”
多伦多警方表示，自2019年以来，该市发生的汽车盗窃案数量增加了一倍多。
截至10月14日，多伦多有9476辆汽车被盗，比去年同期增加了30%。
多伦多警方发言人Stephanie Sayer在向CP24.com发表的一份声明中说:“虽然我没有与汽车盗窃有关的入室盗窃的数据，但我可以告诉你，汽车盗窃犯罪中使用的暴力程度代表了对公共安全的一种新的、不断发展的威胁。”
“我们的调查人员夜以继日地努力解决该市的汽车盗窃案。这个问题非常复杂，因为对被盗汽车的需求非常高，犯罪分子非常猖獗。”
上个月，约克地区警方还发布了一段视频，显示一群嫌疑人进入几户人家，为停在车道上的车辆寻找钥匙。
在附近的Lawrence Park社区，Didi Cameron说，她成立的一个社区监督组织也发现，过去几个月，入室盗窃汽车的事件有所增加。
Cameron说:“像往常一样，每次有一种新的犯罪形式出现时，都会引发恐慌。”“他们肯定很紧张，很担心。”
Yonge和Lawrence街区的另一位居民认为，抢走Meghan汽车的嫌疑人在前一天晚上也曾试图偷走她的车。受害者Melanie告诉CP24，9月11日晚上，一些身份不明的人来到她家，试图进入她家。由于担心自身安全，CP24没有使用自己的姓氏。
她向CP24提供的监控录像显示，一个人拿着手电筒走到前廊，朝窗户里看了看，然后检查门是否开着。在看到门锁上后，这个人从视频中消失了，Melanie说这个人试图打开房子侧面的第二个入口。
不久之后，他又出现在画面中，继续检查停在车道上的一辆宝马，用手电筒往里看。
事件发生15分钟后，Melanie被手机上的警报吵醒，说有人在她的房子里。
在查看了录像后，她报了警。Melanie的路虎揽胜一年前被盗，但她说窃贼并没有进入她家。
“现在已经升级为（嫌疑人）闯入家庭，知道居民在家，知道他们被摄像头拍到，知道警报打开了。他们根本不在乎，继续作案。”
“这显然是一种新盗窃，因为他们无法进行以前的继电器盗窃。”
Melanie从2007年起就住在这个社区，她说，他们这个地区的居民越来越担心了。
Melanie认为，除了她家附近的车辆类型外，小偷之所以把目标锁定在她家附近，是因为这里靠近401号高速公路。
“他们能够在凌晨2点偷车后，5到10分钟内上401号高速公路。他们可以在任何地方。它们可能在400号、404号、427号，所以很难被抓住。”
作为一名家长，这一事件让她感到担忧和紧张，尤其是当她的儿子独自在家的时候。
Midtown residents fear for their safety after alleged car thieves captured on video breaking into home to steal key fob
A number of residents in a midtown Toronto neighbourhood are sounding the alarm about what they described as a brazen and terrifying trend that has seen their homes being broken into by suspects with one objective in mind: stealing key fobs so they can take their vehicles.
CP24.com spoke with three residents in the Yonge and Lawrence neighbourhood who are concerned about the increasingly brazen ways that thieves are targeting vehicles in the area.
One shared a home surveillance video which captured two suspects throwing a brick into a window flanking the front door to gain access to a house. Once inside, the two allegedly took the keys to a Mercedes-Benz GLA and drove it away.
"We have cameras, we have lights. They were there within a metre of a camera directed at their heads. And it didn't matter," said Meghan, whose last name CP24 is not using because she is concerned for her safety.
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"They didn't pause. They were so brazen and so determined to take our car."
The incident happened on Sept. 12. Meghan recounted that she and her husband were awoken by a loud crashing noise, which they initially thought was one of their two teenage children.
Alleged car thieves break into midtown home in search for a key fob.
However, when her husband went downstairs to check what had happened, he saw their front door wide open and broken glass on the floor.
"And then we noticed that my car was gone," Meghan said.
"Never in our wildest dreams did we think that somebody would go as far as breaking into a house to find keys," she added.
Meghan is just one of the several residents in the neighbourhood who have had their vehicles stolen in recent months through this new scheme. CP24.com is aware of two more incidents that police are investigating, but the affected residents have declined to be interviewed due to safety concerns.
"Absolutely terrified," Meghan said. "Angry is not the word. We're very, very traumatized."
She said police were able to ping a location for the Mercedes using an app but only items from the vehicle, including the tracker, were recovered.
"The police believe that what (the suspects) did was they pulled over, they dismantled the GPS, and they threw all the items that were in my car out in case there was any type of AirTag or a device like that," Meghan said.
Her car has not been located. No arrests have been made in the theft.
The incident last month wasn't the first time Meghan was targeted by car thieves. In 2022, her Jeep Wrangler was stolen from the driveway. However, she said that incident didn't impact her family as much as the recent theft because it didn't involve the thieves going inside their home.
"We have been through this before. That didn't feel as unsettling because it was taken from the driveway. It didn't affect my family. I didn't feel like it affected our safety," Meghan said.
"A year later, and clearly, these criminals are just becoming more and more fearless."
Toronto police said the number of auto thefts taking place in the city has more than doubled since 2019.
As of Oct. 14, 9,476 vehicles have been reported stolen in Toronto – an increase of 30 per cent from the same time last year.
“Although I don’t have the numbers for break-ins related to auto thefts, I can tell you that the level of violence being used in the commission of auto theft offences represents a new and evolving threat to public safety,” Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer said in a statement to CP24.com.
“Around the clock, we have investigators aggressively working to address auto thefts in the city. This issue is very complex because the demand for stolen cars is very high, and the criminals are very motivated.”
Sayer noted that it has been a significant issue in the city and that Toronto police and the Ontario Provincial Police are co-leading a provincial task force to address the rising incidents of violence related to auto crimes.
Last month, York Regional Police also released video footage showing a group of suspects gaining access to several homes to find key fobs for the vehicles parked in the driveway.
In the nearby Lawrence Park neighbourhood, Didi Cameron said a neighbourhood watch group she started has also seen an increase in incidents of break-and-enter car thefts in the past few months.
"Every time there's a new way of doing something, there's a bit of a panic, as usual," Cameron said. "They're definitely nervous and concerned."
Residents are uploading videos to the group to alert their neighbours. In one video Cameron shared with CP24.com, one person is seen trying to break a front door window with a rock without success.
She said she has contacted their local police division for advice that she can share with residents. Cameron added that she planned to host a town hall where officers can talk to the community and address their concerns.
She believes that one of the reasons suspects have resorted to breaking into homes is because residents have heeded the recommendations of authorities on what they can do to avoid getting their vehicles stolen, including using Faraday bags and steering wheel locks.
"We're all sort of listening to the police tips, changing the way we're doing things. So now they have these thieves, these criminals have to find a new way of getting keys," Cameron said.
Another resident in the Yonge and Lawrence neighbourhood believes the suspects who targeted Meghan's car also tried to steal her vehicle the previous night. Melanie told CP24.com that a number of unknown individuals attended her home on the evening of Sept. 11 and tried to get inside. CP24 is not using her last name because she fears for her safety.
Security footage she provided to CP24.com shows a person holding a flashlight, walking up to the front porch and looking into the window before checking if the door is open. After learning that it is locked, the person disappears from the video, and Melanie said the person tried to open a secondary entrance on the side of the house.
Shortly after, he appears back in the frame and proceeds to check on a BMW parked on the driveway, using the flashlight to peer inside.
Fifteen minutes after the incident, Melanie was awakened by an alert on her phone that said a person was on her property.
After checking the footage, she called the police. Melanie had her Range Rover stolen a year ago but said it didn't involve the thieves coming into her house.
"It's sort of escalated to (suspects) breaking into homes, knowing that residents are home, knowing that they're on camera, knowing that their alarms are on. And they're still coming," she said to CP24.com.
"This is apparently a new tactic because they're not able to do the typical relay theft."
Melanie, who has lived in the neighbourhood since 2007, said residents in their area have increasingly become worried.
"I've had a vehicle stolen; it's inconvenient. It's not ideal, but it's quite different when they come into the homes," she said. "That's kind of alarming."
In addition to the type of vehicles people have in her neighbourhood, Melanie believes thieves are targeting their area because it is close to Highway 401.
"They're able to get on Highway 401 in a matter of five or 10 minutes at 2 a.m. And they can be anywhere. They can be on the 400, 404, 427, so very difficult to catch."
As a parent, the incident has left her worried and nervous, especially when her son is home alone.
"You should feel safe in your home,” Melanie said. “You shouldn't feel as though that a particular car you drive you're at risk coming in with weapons.”
