De Gelder: “A loner who shunned others”

The suspect has been identified as Kim De Gelder, a 20-year-old Belgian from the Sinaai neighbourhood of the East Flemish town of Sint-Niklaas.

He has no police record and investigators have few indications what motivated him to commit mass murder in this peaceful East Flemish town.

Kim De Gelder is unemployed and lives alone. He lived in a new apartment in a block where there are many families with young children.

Neighbours describe him as a loner, who shunned contact with his neighbours.

He does not own a car and went everywhere on his bike. This is also how he covered the 20 kilometres to Dendermonde on that fateful Friday last week.

Until recently the killer worked for a wholesaler that supplies shop equipment.

He gave up his job; nobody knows why.

Colleagues portray him as "clever" and a "movie addict". He was also an introvert and did not reveal much of his character.

At a news conference on Saturday the prosecutor’s office was keen to quash any suggestion that the suspect had confessed. He was not co-operating with the enquiry.

When he was detained on Friday he had the addresses of three other crèches on him.

(flandersnews.be/Expatica)