The man who committed a deadly mass stabbing at a library in North Vancouver two years ago has apologized to each of his victims by name, stating that blame for the tragedy lies with him alone.
Yannick Bandaogo pleaded guilty this year to second-degree murder, several charges of attempted murder and one count of aggravated assault over the March 2021 attack, which killed one woman and wounded several others outside the Lynn Valley Library.
Bandaogo’s lawyer said his client cannot explain a motive, but the 30-year-old told the court on Friday of a troubled childhood that led him into drug use. Speaking softly as he read a prepared statement in French, Bandaogo said it was difficult to find the words to explain his journey.
He said when he left Quebec he took his family problems with him, travelling to Vancouver via Toronto and Winnipeg before the attack. The availability of crystal meth in those cities led him to consume an “enormous” amount of the drug, which “played a role” in his behaviour, he told the court.
Bandaogo said he felt incapable of asking for help and unable to change his fate as his physical and mental health deteriorated. He expressed his “most sincere condolences” to all those impacted by his actions and recognized the far-reaching consequences of his actions.
Outside B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, defense lawyer Georges Rivard said he believes his client’s apology was genuine.
“It was something that was very heartfelt and he took time to properly draft his statement,” Rivard told reporters. “Mr. Bandaogo acknowledged the destruction that he’s caused. As I mentioned, the question of motive — very hard to explain.”
Rivard added that Bandaogo was homeless at the time of the attack and his presence on the North Shore that day may have been “coincidence.”
Earlier this week, the sentencing hearing at B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster heard impact statements from victims and their relatives, including the mother of the woman who was killed, who said the death of her “gentle” and “fearless” daughter had shattered the family.
The victim’s mother-in-law also called Bandaogo a “monster,” who stole from her son a life with the woman he loved.
Crown and defence lawyers jointly proposed Bandaogo receive a sentence of life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years, although Justice Geoffrey R.J. Gaul may still decide on a different term. Second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term, with a minimum of 10 years before parole can be granted.
A sentencing date was put over until August.
“The presiding judge wanted to have some time to properly address the victim impact statements, to recognize the importance of the victim impact statements … as well to really digest the two psychiatrists’ reports that were presented as well,” Rivard said of the delay.
Before Bandaogo spoke, his defence lawyer read a statement in French written by his mother, whose name was not made public.
In the letter, she said her son had a long history of mental health and drug problems but was denied help.
She went on to say Bandaogo was turned away when he showed up at hospitals in Quebec, and requests for help from other agencies were denied because he was not deemed “an immediate threat.”
Bandaogo’s denial of his mental health and addictions challenges impeded his ability to help himself and the family’s ability to support him, she added. The problem exceeded their capacity to address it.
Bandaogo’s condition worsened, she said, and he left Quebec without telling his family, who lost touch with him for about a year. The pandemic exacerbated his psychological distress, he no longer had regular contact with his doctor, and before long her son had departed reality and begun to live in his own “world,” his mother wrote.
Bandaogo’s mother said she wasn’t trying make her son the victim or excuse his actions, but wanted to provide context that might help the public understand the events. She called the stabbing spree an “unprecedented” tragedy.
She too, addressed her son’s victims directly and apologized. While she can’t claim to understand their pain, she said, she thinks of them often and it saddens her deeply to know they are suffering.
“I hear your anger, your frustration, your sadness and your distress,” the lawyer said in French on her behalf. “I am so sorry.”
She called for better support for those with mental health and addictions challenges so such tragedies never reoccur.
— with files from The Canadian Press