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HILLSBOROUGH — Detectives are investigating a home invasion by a man who demanded money, assaulted two adults with a hammer, then locked them in a closet and fled — by stealing their vehicle on the way out, police said.

At about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, a man, armed with a hammer, entered a residence on Sunnymeade Road and demanded money from an 80-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man, according to a statement from Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey D. Soriano, Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Chief of County Detectives Timothy Fitzgerald, and Hillsborough Township Chief of Police Paul Kaminsky.

After assaulting the two adults with the hammer, the man locked both of them in a bedroom closet from which they were unable to escape for at least six hours, the statement said.

When they did escape, the couple notified Hillsborough Police, the statement said.

After robbing the victims of personal items, the man fled the area in one of the victims' vehicles, which was subsequently recovered in Raritan Borough, the statement said. BEGIN RELATED LINKS

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Both victims sustained injuries and were taken to Somerset Medical Center, where they were both treated and released, the statement said.

Detectives from the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit, Crime Scene Investigation and Forensics Unit, and the Hillsborough Township Police were on scene handling the investigation, the statement said.

Crime Stoppers of Somerset County Inc. is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the man responsible for the home invasion and attack, the statement said.

Soriano, Fitzgerald and Kaminsky ask anyone with information regarding this crime, or anyone who may have observed the man in the area, to contact the Somerset County Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 888-577-8477 or leave tips online on the Crime Stoppers tips website or the prosecutor's office website. All calls and tips will be kept confidential, Soriano said.

Update: The prosecutor's office has released a description of the suspected home invader and new information on the case. Read the updated story here.