( CNN ) -- Two children and one adult were killed Friday after a man with a painted face launched a knife attack at a children 's daycare center in Belgium . Police look at a hearse parked in front of the childcare centre in Dendermonde where the attack took place . Officials said two adults and 10 children , some of whom were in a critical condition , were being treated in hospital following the attack in Dendermonde , 25 kilometers ( 16 miles ) northwest of Brussels . `` The guy just went crazy , '' local official Theo Janssens said , according to Agence France-Presse news agency . He was arrested an hour and a half afterwards , according to the Interior Ministry . Reports said he was trying to make his escape on a bicycle . The attacker entered the day care center in Dendermonde , about 16 miles northwest of Brussels , around 10 a.m. ( 4 a.m . ET ) and began stabbing children and staff , the ministry said . Local journalist Bart Bekaert told CNN that the attacker 's face was painted black and white . Hear Bekaert describe the attack » . `` Witnesses say he looked calm . There was no security and he just walked straight in , '' he added . AFP reported that the man was not known to staff at the nursery . `` You do n't expect such acts happening in a daycare center , '' Dendermonde deputy prosecutor Jan Kerkhofs told CNN . `` It is not like a prison so there are no bars on the doors or security systems . ''
2 children , 1 adult injured in knife attack at home , Belgian Interior Ministry says . Three people were seriously injured in attack in town of Dendermonde . Attacker ` ` had painted face , '' local journalist tells CNN .