VANCOUVER -- A man charged with second-degree murder in Saturday’s knife attack in North Vancouver, B.C., refused to leave his cell to participate in a scheduled court appearance by telephone Monday morning.
Yannick Bandaogo, 28, faces one count of second-degree murder.
On Saturday, seven people were attacked in and around the Lynn Valley Library in North Vancouver, and one person died as a result of their injuries.
Police say Bandaogo was arrested in connection with the attacks and underwent surgery for self-inflicted wounds.
Bandaogo, who is being held at the North Vancouver RCMP detachment, was scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. but that was delayed while the court waited for a French language interpreter.
Eventually, shortly before noon, the scheduled appearance began with an RCMP officer appearing by phone to tell the court the suspect would not leave his cell.
Provincial court Judge Patricia Janzen agreed to reschedule the appearance for Thursday morning.
Bandaogo was represented in court by duty counsel Michael Smith who told the judge he had not had a chance to speak to his client.
The motive behind the attack is still under investigation, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Monday.
Speaking at a news conference, a detective in the case said so far no connections between the accused and the victims have been identified.
The investigation is still in its early stages, and Bandaogo's background is one of IHIT's focuses at this stage.
They said he was known to police in Quebec and Manitoba, but did not elaborate much further other than to say he is the subject of warrants in both provinces.
At this point, they also said, it does not appear he has ties to any radicalized movement or group and it is not known what brought him to the West Coast, IHIT said.
So far 50 witnesses have been interviewed, as have all six surviving victims.
The person who died in the attack has not been identified publicly, as the family has requested privacy.
