Molotov cocktail thrown into North Vancouver home and the owners don’t know why

North Vancouver RCMP is investigating an incident that may be a case of mistaken identity.

Police said a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window of a four-plex on Tuesday evening while a young family was inside the home.

The victims, who Global News is not identifying out of safety concerns, said the father was sitting on a couch next to the window moments before someone tossed a lit bottle through the window.

Fortunately, he had moved to another room just in time.

The family said they heard a loud crash; the mother saw the window on fire and broken glass on the ledge.

A neighbour, who is also not being identified, rushed to help the family.

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“I heard my neighbours yelling and it was clear that something had happened in their house… I ran downstairs to help as fast as possible,” the neighbour said.

“Got the hose from the side of the house, doused the fire and there was a bottle stuck in the window.

“There could have been a major fire; somebody could have been injured, killed, who knows.”

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Cpl. Mansoor Sahak with North Vancouver RCMP said that officers are conducting video canvassing and speaking to neighbours and witnesses.

“Obviously, this is a scary situation for the family, the residents there,” he said.

“We’re treating this extremely seriously; our victim services unit is engaged in providing assistance to the family.”

The family said they don’t understand why anyone would want to harm them and they believe that this may have been a case of mistaken identity.

Police said it is too early in the investigation to say if the incident was targeted or random.