YANNICK Bandaogo, 28, has been charged in connection with Saturday’s stabbing death of a woman in North Vancouver, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team and North Vancouver RCMP announced on Sunday.
The suspect has undergone surgery for self-inflicted wounds and is in police custody.
On March 27 at around 1:40 p.m., the North Vancouver RCMP and other emergency responders were called to the Lynn Valley library for reports of a stabbing. Officers arrived on scene to find multiple victims with stab wounds.
Six individuals sustained stab wounds of varying severity and one woman in her late twenties succumbed to her injuries and died. The remaining victims were transported to hospital for non-life threatening emergency medical care.
One man was arrested by police at scene and he remains in police custody.
On March 28, Bandaogo was charged with second-degree murder. His background, history in BC and relationship to the victims, if any, is still being determined.
(According to Vancouver Sun, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued last September for a man named Yannick Bandaogo, 28. According to court records, he pleaded guilty to assault in a domestic violence case in 2019 in Quebec. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest last July for failure to appear in court. Also, in October 2018, he was sentenced to one month in jail for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.)
IHIT investigators, supported by the North Vancouver RCMP Investigative Services Team, is managing priority tasks, processing the scene, conducting witness statements and completing an extensive video canvass of the area.
The BC RCMP said its priority revolves around the victims and their families, as well as the first responders who attended the scene. “We continue to be focussed on the broader community and working with the district team and other partners to ensure we have the appropriate level of resources and victim services available to anyone that requires that assistance,” it added.
“This is a deeply profound and tragic incident that has shaken all of us,” said Inspector Michelle Tansey, Acting Officer-in-Charge of the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team. “I commend our investigators and partners for the remarkable work they have done and continue to do under challenging circumstances. My sincere condolences to yesterday’s victims and their families and to all who have been affected by this crime.”
“We share the community’s grief and outrage,” said Superintendent Ghalib Bhayani, Officer-in-Charge of the North Vancouver RCMP. “Lynn Valley Library is a peaceful place. A place where our community comes to learn and our children come to explore, and the RCMP is committed to keeping you safe.”
