Two nurses from the Fabeltjesland daycare walk outside a crisis centre set up in Dendermonde, near Brussels, after the attacks on Friday. ((John Thys/AFP/Getty)) The injured victims of a stabbing rampage that killed three people at a daycare outside of Brussels were in stable condition in hospital, officials said Friday evening.

A man with a black-and white-painted face entered a daycare outside Brussels Friday morning and stabbed to death two children and an adult, police said.

Police said the suspect, identified only as a 20-year-old man, rode a bicycle to the Fabeltjesland daycare in the small town of Dendermonde in western Belgium around 10 a.m. local time.

Prosecutor Christian Du Four said the man found the daycare unlocked and went inside after he arrived on his bike.

"After he entered he started slashing at everyone he ran into … the daycare workers, the children," Du Four told a news conference.

Police said the suspect entered a room in the daycare where babies were sleeping and stabbed them with a 20-centimetre knife as staff members tried to stop him.

He then moved to a second room and stabbed several more infants, police said.

Emergency surgeries

Two children aged three or younger were killed along with a female staff member. Ten other children and two adult staff members were rushed to six area hospitals, where emergency procedures were performed.

Dr. Ignace Demeyer, head of emergency services at Our Lady Hospital in nearby Aalst, said the children arrived at his hospital with serious stab wounds.

"This was a particularly violent attack," Demeyer said. "All the kids had multiple stab wounds on their legs, arms, and all over their bodies."

Nine of the 21 children at the daycare were unharmed, officials said.

All of the victims who were wounded in the attack were in stable condition by Friday night, Demeyer said.

Horrific scene

Peter Claymens, the director of the Dendermonde Ambulance Centre, said the scene at the daycare was horrific.

"It was a disaster. All the children were lying down on the ground, bleeding, in the neck, in the stomach, everywhere," he said.

Anguished parents gathered outside the daycare as police showed them digital pictures of the injured so they could identify the children.

The suspect reportedly left the daycare and bicycled several kilometres before he was caught and arrested by police in a grocery store.

Witnesses said police arrested a tall, thin, red-haired man wearing a bullet-proof jacket. His eyes were painted with black makeup and the rest of his face was white, they said.

Some residents told the Associated Press the suspect is a local man who has a history of mental illness.

Officials have refused to confirm reports that the man had a psychiatric disorder. But police said the suspect behaved as if he was in a stupor when he was arrested. He does not have a criminal record, Du Four said.

The man was questioned by police on Friday and was expected to appear in court Friday night or Saturday morning, officials said.

"An act of great brutality has happened here against our weakest citizens," said Dendermonde Mayor Piet Buyse. The small town is about 30 km northwest of Brussels.

Police say they have no motive for the attack.

'Totally in shock'

Officials opened up a nearby community centre to provide psychological counselling to family members and witnesses on Friday.

Crown Prince Philippe and his wife, Princess Mathilde, also met with relatives of the victims and first aid workers.

"People are totally in shock," said Leene Du Bois, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Flanders. "Nobody would have imagined anyone could do so much harm. There is much grief."

"[It's] something you hear about from America, not here," said area bakery owner Bie Hoornaert.

Du Bois said the suspect is not believed to have a connection to the daycare centre.

Veerle Heeren, social welfare minister for the regional Flemish government, said she would be investigating security measures at the centre.