DENDERMONDE, Belgium -- Police charged a 20-year-old unemployed Belgian with murder after two babies and a woman were killed and 13 others wounded in a frenzied and motiveless knife attack at a creche (daycare) that stunned Belgium.
Prosecutor Christian Du Four, at a news conference on Saturday, identified the man only as "Kim D", from Belsele, a village some 30 km from the scene of Friday's attack in the town of Dendermonde.
The man had no previous criminal record, Du Four said. When he was arrested he was carrying a knife, a small axe, a fake pistol and was wearing body armour, he said. Two more knives were found at the scene.
"He has not said anything, so we don't know about his motive," Du Four said. "He doesn't say anything ... he's very passive."
Local media dubbed the assailant the "Joker" killer because his face was painted white and his eyes blackened, like the criminal mastermind in the Batman films.
He arrived at the Fabeltjesland -- Fairytale Land -- creche in Dendermonde, 30 km west of Brussels in mid-morning on Friday saying he wanted to ask a question.
But he then ran into the creche's rooms and launched his attacks, slashing at victims with a knife, before cycling off.
There were 18 infants aged up to three years and six adults in the creche. Those killed were aged six and nine months and a woman child minder, aged 54.
Some of the wounded children would require plastic surgery, hospital staff said.
Belgium was in shock. De Morgen newspaper bore the headline "Cold, Bloodthirsty, Inhuman", while the Gazet Van Antwerpen simply asked "Why?".
Residents, many still mouthing disbelief, laid bouquets and teddy bears at the creche, mourning what Le Soir newspaper called an "appalling massacre" of innocents.
Tens of thousands of people expressed condolences online on the Facebook networking site.
The assailant cycled off but was soon detained at a shop.
Some Belgian media said a piece of paper had been found in the suspect's pocket with the address of another day care centre - suggesting he may have planned more than one attack.
Commentators compared the outrage to that caused by the Marc Dutroux paedophile killings a decade ago. Dutroux was convicted of kidnapping and raping six girls and perceived police incompetence provoked mass protests.
"I can't understand why anyone would want to kill small children," one young girl said in Dendermonde where the national flag flew at half mast on Saturday.
"It's really dreadful," said a town resident, Nicole Verhelst. "Usually you see this kind of thing on TV and you think it's bad, you don't realise, but now when it happens in your own street, so close to us."
Another resident An Verheyden said: "It really hurts. Your child sees what happened on the news. It's bad for them too, when they have small brothers and they hear about it."
Mayor Piet Buyse said townsfolk wanted to show solidarity with the victims' families. "We are bleeding with them," he said.
Source:
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=1214948 
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