Man charged in Belgian crèche stabbings

1 hour ago

DENDERMONDE, Belgium (AFP) — A 20-year-old Belgian man has been charged with killing two infants and a 54-year-old female employee at a child daycare centre and has been remanded in custody, a prosecutor said on Saturday.

The man, who was arrested on Friday shortly after the rampage, was interrogated by police and then brought before a judge who charged him with murder, said the prosecutor in Dendermonde, western Belgium.

The accused, whose identity has not been released, was also charged with attempted murder, the prosecutor said.

Ten children and two staff were wounded, some very seriously, in the attack in the town of Dendermonde near Brussels.

After staff opened the door, the man barged into The Country of Fables daycare centre with a 30-centimetre (12-inch) long knife and began slashing some of the children lying in beds, none more than three years old, officials said.

During the interrogation, the man whose face was painted white with black around his eyes -- making some think of the Joker character in Batman -- gave no indication about his motives for the attack, a spokesman for the prosecution said.





The prosecution also has denied rumours that the accused escaped from a psychiatric ward or was high on drugs or alcohol.

According to the Flemish newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws, the man allegedly admitted to the killings after 10 hours of interrogation during which he laughed several times.

The newspaper also claimed that police prevented "a second bloodbath" as the man had on him a second knife and the address of another child daycare centre.

Of the 12 wounded in the attack, a six-month-old baby and a three-year-old child were in very serious but not life-threatening condition, a spokesman at Ghent university hospital said on Saturday.

Another medical official said many of the wounded had been "mutiliated" and would need plastic surgery.

The tragedy is one of a number of deadly attacks at schools or child care centres in Europe in recent years.

Belgium is still in shock over the case of a woman who cut the throats of her five children and a series of paedophile scandals.

The man, who is still unidentified, showed contempt for questioners, "snorting with laughter" after being accused of using a knife to stage a bloody rampage inside a Dendermonde, Belgium, daycare center, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.

The newspaper said unnamed police officers and prosecutors said the suspect had painted his face white to resemble the Joker from the Batman movie "The Dark Knight" and was not believed to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the Friday morning killings. The attacker allegedly stabbed wildly at the heads and necks of children between a few months and 2 years old.

The witness added: “He presented a terrifying sight for the young children.”


Evil ... Heath Ledger as the movie Joker

The knifeman was over-powered by police in a local shop 90 minutes later.

A police officer confirmed: “He had his face painted like Heath Ledger playing The Joker.”

Prosecutors said a 20-year-old local man had been charged with triple murder and multiple counts of attempted murder.

Weeping parents were taken to a reception centre by police and shown photos of the injured victims in a bid to identify them. At least three of the wounded were in a “very serious” condition last night.