HOPKINS, Minn. (AP) 鈥� A Minnesota man killed his wife and their 7-year-old daughter as young children gathered at a home daycare the couple owned before taking his own life, police said Wednesday. Some time prior to the attack, police believe he also killed a 78-year-old relative at her home.
The 41-year-old man fatally shot himself after stabbing his wife and child at their in-home daycare in Hopkins, a suburb of Minneapolis, police said.
All six other children who were at Brown Bear Childcare were not physically harmed, authorities said. Another parent called police after witnessing the attack in the home’s basement while dropping off a child, Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no worse scenario than this, where you drop off your child somewhere you think is safe, and you get that phone call,鈥� Johnson said at a news conference.
鈥淭his is a tragic day and horrific scene for little children to witness, if they did witness this,鈥� Johnson later added.
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EDITOR鈥橲 NOTE 鈥� In the U.S., the national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org
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More than three hours after the killings, Burnsville Chief Matt Smith said officers were called to a home in his community, 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Hopkins, where they found a woman who had been fatally stabbed. He said investigators believe the two tragedies are linked, and that the man had been living at the home of the 鈥渃lose family relative.鈥�
No names were released. Johnson said no clear motive had been determined yet and there was no history of police calls to the Hopkins address.
Johnson said it will take time for authorities to determine the timeline between the killings in Hopkins and Burnsville.
Amanda Marx, a nurse who lives across the street, didn鈥檛 realize anything was wrong until she noticed police officers trying to break down the home鈥檚 front door.
She said officers moved behind the house before reappearing and calling for crime scene tape. Later, several young children emerged 鈥� one being carried by an officer.
The brown, two-story house has a mural on the garage door of a tree-lined lake and a moose. Photos on the daycare鈥檚 Facebook page show kids playing with toys inside and in the backyard, with colorful decorations and artwork on the walls.
Marx said she and her 7-year-old son always referred to it as the 鈥済arage house鈥� due to the colorful mural. The longtime resident said she鈥檇 never met the home鈥檚 owners and was unaware they were running Brown Bear Childcare out of the home. She didn鈥檛 recall any prior disturbances.
鈥淚鈥檓 just trying to figure out how to explain to my 7-year-old why there鈥檚 crime scene tape on our deck,鈥� she said.
Records show the daycare has been licensed by the state since 2019 and has a capacity of 10 children. It was found to be in compliance during visits in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
Johnson said killings are a 鈥渞arity鈥� in Hopkins and that his officers were shaken by the scene they found inside the home.
鈥淚 could see on the look on their faces that this was one of those ones that you鈥檒l remember for your entire career, if not life,鈥� Johnson said.
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Rico reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.
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