MAN SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR DELIBERATELY SETTING FIRE THAT KILLED 3 YEAR OLD GIRL IN CANADA
An Ottawa man has been sentenced to life imprisonment after deliberately setting a fire inside a high rise apartment building that killed a 3 year old girl and seriously injured members of her family.
Saeed Mohamed was sentenced on September 4, 2026 after being convicted of first degree murder in the death of Karima Moustapha.
The life sentence carries no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Mohamed also received two additional 20 year sentences in connection with injuries suffered by two other victims. The sentences will be served concurrently.
FIRE DELIBERATELY SET INSIDE APARTMENT BUILDING
The deadly fire occurred at approximately 6am on May 2, 2024 inside an apartment tower on Donald Street in Ottawa.
Evidence presented in court showed that Mohamed poured gasoline along a third floor hallway before setting it on fire and fleeing.
The blaze sent eight people to hospital.
Three suffered life threatening injuries, including Karima, her mother and her sister.
Karima died from her injuries several days later on May 11.
Her mother and sister survived despite suffering critical injuries.
Around 250 residents were forced to seek assistance at a nearby community centre following the fire.
The blaze also caused approximately $1.6 million in property damage.
PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED OF ARSON
Court records revealed that the deadly 2024 fire was not Mohamed’s first serious arson offence.
He had previously been arrested following fires at an apartment building in Ottawa’s Sandy Hill neighbourhood in 2016.
He was later convicted of arson with disregard for human life.
During sentencing for that earlier offence, a judge reportedly warned Mohamed about the potentially catastrophic consequences of his behaviour.
Years later, the 2024 Donald Street fire resulted in the death of a child.
LIFE SENTENCE
First degree murder carries an automatic life sentence in Canada, with parole eligibility generally unavailable for 25 years.
The judge also imposed two 20 year sentences relating to the serious injuries suffered by Karima’s mother and sister.
Those sentences will run at the same time as Mohamed’s life sentence.
The case has renewed discussion in Ottawa about public safety, repeat violent offending and how authorities respond to individuals with previous convictions for conduct capable of causing mass casualties.
At the centre of the tragedy remains a family that lost a 3 year old child.
Karima Moustapha was only three years old when she died.
May she rest in peace.
VNTV
