Man pleads guilty to North Vancouver library stabbings that killed 1, injured 6

A man accused in a series of stabbings outside a public library in North Vancouver, B.C., two years ago has pleaded guilty to murdering one person and trying to kill six more.

Yannick Bandaogo, now 30, responded with "oui, Monsieur Judge" to charges of one count of second-degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault read out by Justice Geoffrey Gaul in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster on Monday morning.

The proceedings took place in French, Bandaogo's first language. A three day sentencing hearing has been set to begin July 5.

Bandaogo was arrested at the scene of the stabbings at the Lynn Valley public library on the afternoon of March 27, 2021.

A woman in her late 20s, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, was killed and six others badly injured including a university student, a high school teacher and a single mother.

Outside the courthouse, Crown counsel Daniel Loucks said the guilty pleas will help spare those affected by the tragedy from being retraumatized through what was originally scheduled to be a 10-week trial.

"I would expect it's a tremendous relief for victims and the community to have this result rather than having to go through the uncertainty and anxiety of a lengthy trial," said Loucks.

The mystery of why Bandaogo stabbed several people and why he was in North Vancouver remains. According to the agreed statement of facts read out in court, he did not know any of the people he attacked.

The victims were between the ages of 22 and 78 years old at the time of the stabbings.

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 speculate on Bandaogo's rationale for the attacks, saying more information on the details of the case will be presented to court during the sentencing process.

"These types of trials are very fluid — and Mr. Bandaogo waited for all the information to be present at that time in order to make the right decision," Rivard said, referring to why his client decided to enter guilty pleas after more than a year of hearings over securing French-language court dates.

Rivard said that, given Bandaogo's offences, he is likely facing life in prison, and sentencing will only focus on the parole eligibility aspect.

RCMP said Bandaogo didn't have a fixed address and had a criminal record and warrants out for his arrest in other provinces.

Two months earlier, Bandaogo had been sentenced in Winnipeg to 160 days of time served and one year of supervised probation for threatening to stab two city employees.

In 2019, he pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon causing bodily harm in Quebec. A year before that, he was sentenced to one month in jail for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest in Longueuil, Que., a suburb of Montreal.

He was also sentenced to four months for assault causing bodily harm and three months in connection with two other assault cases.

He had been wanted for arrest in Quebec since 2020 after failing to appear in court twice. RCMP said they did not know why Bandaogo came to the west coast.

Crown and defence are expected to bring a joint submission for sentencing, along with psychiatric reports. Victims will be given the opportunity to give impact statements.