WATCH: Video shows thieves stealing car from Connecticut’s Watertown gas station in seven seconds

On Sunday, a broad daylight hijacking at a Shell Gas Station on Straits Turnpike in Watertown, Connecticut, was recorded by a surveillance camera.

In the video, two suspects can be seen fleeing with an empty vehicle in just 7 seconds. According to the authorities, the owner had left his keys in the car and entered the gas station building.

Authorities noted that the vehicle, a Black Nissan Ultima, was one of many vehicles to have been hijacked around the town in recent times.

In the official press release, they stated:

"There has been a drastic increase in stolen motor vehicles throughout town and in the area."

The case is still currently under investigation.

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The implications of the Connecticut hijacking

In light of the recent Sunday Watertown hijacking, authorities have urged the public to take care of their car keys and vehicle.

On the Watertown Police Facebook Page, authorities said:

"The vehicle was stolen in approximately 7 seconds."

The post continued:

"Please do not leave your keys in your vehicle, lock your doors and be aware of your surroundings. Suspects are waiting in parking lots for someone to leave their vehicles running unattended."

The hijacking is not an isolated incident. As per Bankrate, more than 810400 vehicles were stolen in 2020, the last year in which complete data was available across the nation. This marked an approximate 12% increase in hijackings from 2019.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, many vehicle thefts occur because owners forget to take the keys out of their cars. This was reportedly the case for 230000 thefts over a two-year period, from 2016 to 2018.

The FBI reported that in the New England region, where Connecticut is situated, there were 15371 hijackings in 2020, a rate of roughly 104 hijackings per 100000 citizens. The Nissan Altima, which was the vehicle hijacked in the recent Watertown case, is the 6th most stolen car in America.

In 2021, however, Ken Barone, the associate director at the Institute for Municipal and Regional Planning at the University of Connecticut, told members of the Juvenile Justice Policy and Oversight Committee that vehicular theft rates across Connecticut had seen a decline since 2020.

He said:

“We’re not necessarily experiencing a continued, substantial growth in auto thefts from last year."

He continued:

"It’s likely that motor vehicle thefts will continue to decline through 2022.”

While Connecticut has an average rate of hijackings, the State which sees the most vehicular thefts is New Mexico, with a rate of 427 hijackings per 100000 people.