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Quick-Thinking Teen Helps Cops Bust Break-In Suspects In Uniondale

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A home invasion turned into a nerve-wracking experience for a teenager on Friday. When two men broke into her home she hid and called for help.

Vanessa Bueno, 14, was babysitting her niece when burglars climbed in through a window, CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported.

"They knocked all of this down. Like the shampoo you could hear it fall and that's when I figured someone was in the house," she recalled.

The teenager heard a knock at the front door and then at the side door, and then she made her first move.

"I heard the window slamming. Then I heard doors slamming and they went into my parents' room," she said.

As the ordeal continued Bueno said she found shelter underneath a table with her niece and her dog, Max. The dog gave up barking and Bueno dialed 911.

"They told me to keep calm and that the lady had sent police officers here and they arrived three minutes after," she said.

While she was waiting for police the frightened teenager could hear drawers and closets opening upstairs.

"I was really scared. I was crying," she said.

Police arrived and escorted Bueno, her niece, and Max out of the house. Then they caught up with the alleged home invaders.

The two suspects were taken into custody with charges pending.

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