Trudeau joins hundreds at Halifax City Hall to mourn 7 children killed in fire

Hundreds of people, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, attended a vigil in downtown Halifax on Wednesday night to mourn seven children killed in a house fire in the neighbourhood of Spryfield.

The Barho family came to Canada in 2017 to escape the war in Syria, settling first in Elmsdale, N.S., before moving closer to the city.

The children's mother, Kawthar, was not physically injured in Tuesday morning's fire, but the father, Ebraheim, remains in critical condition.

"I came here because I feel very sad about what happened that night," said Sami Mohammad, who brought his children to the vigil outside city hall. 

Mohammed, a father of four, arrived in Canada from Syria in December 2015. He said he knows Ebraheim Barho and found out about the fire from a friend. 

There were many people from the Syrian community at the hospital when he went to check in on the family, he said.

"I'm feeling very sad, thinking about the kids," said Mohammed.

The Hants East Assisting Refugee Team Society, the group that sponsored the family to come to Canada, has identified the victims as:

• Abdullah, three months old
• Rana, 2
• Hala, 3
• Ola, 8
• Mohamad, 9
• Rola, 12
• Ahmed, 14

Omar Hamdan, originally from Palestine, moved to Nova Scotia in 2011. The 15-year-old said it was important to come to the vigil Wednesday to show support for the family.

"It's about being a community all together and helping each other out no matter what race, what colour, origin, what language you speak — we're all human," Hamdan said.