A British Columbia court heard of the chaos set off in a North Vancouver library by a man who admitted his guilt on Monday (May 29) to stabbing one woman to death and hurting six others.
Yannick Bandaogo, 30, pleaded guilty in a New Westminster, B.C., court to second-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault for a series of attacks in and around the Lynn Valley Library in March 2021.
READ MORE: Motive in fatal North Vancouver library stabbing unclear; suspect had outstanding warrants
His 10-week trial was expected to begin Monday.
Bandaogo said little during the hearing, but told the judge that he understood the consequences of pleading guilty and giving up his right to a trial.
An agreed statement of facts read in court in French described Bandaogo’s attacks that day as he suddenly and without warning stabbed one victim 12 times, killing her before moving on to others in the vicinity.
Six other people, ranging in age from 22 to 78, were injured in the attack.
The statement confirms that the attacker did not know any of his victims before the stabbings.
It did not provide a motive for Bandaogo’s attacks.
Defence lawyer Georges Rivard said his client “has accepted his responsibility” for the attacks by pleading guilty after processing all the information made available to him before Monday’s court appearance.
Rivard declined to comment on Bandaogo’s rationale for entering his guilty pleas, saying that more information on the details of the case, such as possible victim impact statements, will be presented to court during sentencing, which is scheduled to start July 5.
Bandaogo was arrested shortly after the attack and was treated in hospital for what police said were self-inflicted wounds.
Crown counsel Daniel Loucks said the guilty plea will help those who were affected by the stabbing from possibly being further traumatized through a trial.
Bandaogo, who was originally from Quebec, made his plea in French.
Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press
