Daycare Owners and Child Killed in Apparent Murder-Suicide, Authorities Say

Three people, among them a young child, were found dead Wednesday at a daycare for children under five about 10 miles from Minneapolis, in what police are investigating as an apparent murder-suicide.

The fatal incident unfolded at Brown Bear Childcare, located in a residential area along the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North in Hopkins.

Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said officers were called to what he described as a “domestic situation” around 9 a.m., where they discovered the bodies of a man, a woman and a child believed to be their own.

Johnson said investigators believe the adults were the daycare’s owners and were related to each other, with early evidence pointing to the man as the suspected perpetrator. Authorities are still working to confirm what weapon was used.

Seven children were inside the Hopkins daycare at the time. Aside from the child who died, police said all of the other children were safely evacuated and were not physically hurt.

“There’s no worse scenario than this where you drop off your child somewhere you think is safe and you get that phone call,” Johnson said during a Wednesday press briefing.

About three hours later, investigators made another grim discovery in nearby Burnsville, where a 78-year-old woman was found stabbed to death inside her home. Police believe she was a close relative of the suspect in the daycare killings.

Burnsville Police Chief Matt Smith said authorities believe the two scenes are connected, noting that the suspect had recently been staying at the Burnsville residence.

Meanwhile, Chief Johnson confirmed that all of the surviving daycare children have since been reunited with their parents. 

Horrified parents were reported to be going in and out of the area near the daycare to reunite with children, according to KARE 11.

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Some of them asked for privacy, while at least one mother was escorted by firefighters, per the outlet.

Police said there was no immediate threat to the public, as it was an isolated event, and that an investigation was ongoing. A motive was not immediately known.

Johnson said authorities learned about the incident after one of the daycare’s parents arrived to drop off their children.

When asked if the parent had witnessed what happened, Johnson replied, ‘I believe so.’ 

The Brown Bear daycare was described on a public social media profile as being a licensed home center ‘to help children learn grow.’

It appeared to be running out of a four–bedroom, two–bathroom home that featured ‘1800 square feet of dedicated play space.’

A large law enforcement presence was seen in the area, with police cars and yellow tape spotted among the commotion.

Tyler Street was blocked off between 2nd Street and Lake Street as part of the investigation, according to FOX9. 

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey noted the ‘critical incident’ in Hopkins ahead of his 2027 budget address.

‘While there is not a ton of information yet, I know that our hearts and our prayers are with the people of Hopkins and any families that have been impacted,’ Frey said.

He said he had offered assistance to Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon, and that he had authorized his staff to pull him from the speech in case any assistance had to be provided.

‘The city of Minneapolis stands with Hopkins,’ Frey said. ‘We are not strangers to crisis, and when it takes place, we work together. That’s exactly what we will be doing here.’

The Daily Mail has reached out to Hopkins police for further comment.