VANCOUVER —
A murder charge has been laid in the horrifying attack that left a woman dead and six injured at a library and shopping centre in North Vancouver on Saturday.
Yannick Bandaogo, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder in the attack, homicide detectives said in a news release Sunday.
“His background, history in B.C. and relationship to the victims, if any, is still being determined,” police said.
A man was arrested shortly after the incident at Lynn Valley Village shopping centre in North Vancouver Saturday afternoon. Video of the arrest appeared to show him stabbing himself and collapsing before police converged on him.
On Sunday, the Lower Mainland’s Integrated Homicide Investigation team confirmed that the suspect had suffered “self-inflicted wounds” and undergone surgery. He remains in police custody, IHIT said in its release.
Police said Saturday that the suspect was known to them and had a criminal record.
A search for Bandaogo’s name does not bring up other files in online court records.
Six people were taken to hospital after Saturday’s stabbings, which police said occurred “within and outside” the Lynn Valley Library.
One woman, who police said was in her late 20s, succumbed to her injuries at the scene. The rest of the victims were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Witnesses described the scene as “chaos,” and said the suspect seemed to be attacking people at random.
The library and the shopping centre remained closed Sunday as a memorial to the victims grew on the sidewalk and condolences poured in from public officials.
Police said their priority Sunday would be on providing the necessary resources and support to the victims of the attack, their families and the first responders who were called to the scene.
“This is a deeply profound and tragic incident that has shaken all of us,” said Insp. Michelle Tansey, acting officer-in-charge of IHIT, in the release.
“I commend our investigators and partners for the remarkable work they have done and continue to do under challenging circumstances,” she added. “My sincere condolences to yesterday’s victims and their families and to all who have been affected by this crime.”
Tansey will join Supt. Ghalib Bhayani, detachment commander for North Vancouver RCMP, and District of North Vancouver Mayor Mike Little for a news conference on the case at the library on Monday, police said.
