Attempted murder, arson charges laid in Donald Street highrise fire

An Ottawa man has been charged with attempted murder and arson for a fire at an Overbrook apartment building that sent eight people to hospital and displaced dozens more.

The fire broke out on the third floor of the Donald Street tower around 6 a.m. on May 2.

Three of the eight people who ended up in hospital — two children and a woman — suffered life-threatening injuries, Ottawa paramedics said at the time.

In a news release Wednesday, Ottawa police said they’d laid nine charges against 42-year-old Saeed Mohamed:

  • Three counts of attempted murder.
  • Three counts of arson causing bodily harm.
  • One count of arson with disregard for human life.
  • One count of arson causing property damage.
  • One count of possession of incendiary material.

Mohamed is slated to appear in court Wednesday, police said.

Fire trucks in front of a highrise apartment building.
Many residents were displaced by the two-alarm fire. There was a smaller fire the following night. (Natalia Goodwin/CBC)

It took crews roughly an hour to bring the fire under control and more than four hours to fully extinguish it.

Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who represents the area, said more than 250 residents sought help that day at the Overbrook Community Centre, which served as a reunification point.

As of this past weekend, after a second fire in as many days at the apartment complex, 56 residents remained unable to come home.

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