Leaf Rapids family terrorized during home invasion

A Leaf Rapids family has lost everything, including their home, after a group of home invaders broke in to their house and set it on fire Wednesday morning.

Adrienne Cook was sleeping in the early morning hours of August 2 when she was woken around 5:30 a.m. by banging on her front door. At first, she sleepily ignored the noises, but they persisted.

"I heard someone walk in - like, barge in - and then I ran to my son's room and I said 'I think somebody's in here,'" said Cook.

She heard their dogs barking, a yelp, and then windows being smashed in the kitchen and living room.

Unsure of what to do, Cook and her three children ran down to the basement to hide from the people in their home.

"At this point, I'm terrified," she said. "I'm telling my daughter to hide underneath the table and we're trying to barricade ourselves, protect ourselves, hide ourselves, because I was afraid they might come downstairs."

Cook's oldest son attempted to speak with the invaders and get them to leave.

"And they're telling Ryan, 'we're gonna you know, set your house on fire, we're gonna come down and shoot you guys,'" said Cook. "And then you can hear him telling other guys 'put the stove on and light a fire from it.'"

The family tried calling 911, but were having difficulty getting a signal. They began to smell smoke coming from upstairs. When the invaders closed the kitchen door, Cook saw their chance to escape.

"This is our time to run, we have to run out," she said. "And then we ran out the side door. Luckily they didn’t see us."

Cook and her kids could see smoke and flames coming from their home as they ran over to a neighbour's house.

"I'm banging on the window, screaming 'help, can someone help us?'" she said.

The neighbours called 911 and emergency crews arrived shortly after.

An RCMP spokesperson told CTV News they received a call just after 6 a.m. reporting three or four suspects entering a house, causing damage, and lighting it on fire.

Mounties began an investigation and identified the suspects involved.

They arrested a 31-year-old man from Leaf Rapids who was found nearby. He remains behind bars.

He has been charged with arson, breaking and entering, and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose, among other things.

Cook said she knows who the invaders were. "We know them from town because it's a small community, everybody knows everybody, so we know who they are. We don't know why they did it."

Cook has started a crowdfunding campaign to help raise money to replace everything they lost. They did not have insurance.

The family also lost one of their dogs in the incident.

Cook feels they're lucky to be alive. "We're just very grateful that we walked away with our lives together. Things could have been a lot worse."

RCMP said the investigation continues.