Investigators believe the 41-year-old man killed a relative in Burnsville before his wife and daughter died at the family’s Hopkins daycare.
HOPKINS, Minn. — Police investigating the deaths of a husband, wife and their 7-year-old daughter at a Minnesota home daycare say the case is linked to the fatal stabbing of a 78-year-old relative at another home about 20 miles away.
The four deaths have left investigators working across two communities to establish a timeline and determine what led to the violence on Aug. 12. Hopkins police said the 41-year-old man killed his 41-year-old wife and their daughter at Brown Bear Childcare before dying by suicide. Burnsville police later found a 78-year-old woman dead at a separate residence and said they believe she was a close relative of the man. Authorities had not publicly identified any of the four people as of Thursday.
Hopkins police were called shortly after 9 a.m. to the home daycare in the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North after a parent arriving with a child witnessed an attack and contacted authorities. Police said the wife and daughter suffered fatal stab wounds. The man was found dead elsewhere in the home from what authorities described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Six other young children were inside Brown Bear Childcare during the attack, police said. None was physically injured. Officers removed the children from the home and reunited them with their families. Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said investigators had not established whether the children saw the violence.
The investigation widened more than three hours later when Burnsville officers responded to a home near Maple Island Road and Joplin Avenue South. Burnsville Police Chief Matt Smith said a relative had found the 78-year-old woman dead there. Police said she had been stabbed. Authorities believe the man found dead in Hopkins had been staying at the Burnsville residence with the woman.
Police said evidence led investigators to believe the two scenes were connected, but officials had not released a complete chronology. Authorities were working to determine when the Burnsville woman died and whether her death occurred before the killings at the daycare. Search warrants were being carried out as investigators looked for evidence that could clarify the sequence of events and provide information about a possible motive.
Johnson said investigators had not identified a clear motive and that police had no history of calls to the Hopkins home. Officials said the violence appeared to be isolated and that there was no continuing threat to the public. Authorities also had not announced evidence suggesting another person participated in the killings.
Brown Bear Childcare operated from the Hopkins residence and had been licensed by Minnesota since 2019. State records cited by news organizations showed the home daycare was licensed to care for as many as 10 children. Records also showed the program had been found in compliance during regulatory visits in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
The deaths stunned Hopkins, where Johnson described killings as rare. Mayor Patrick Hanlon said the loss was being felt across the close-knit community. Johnson also said the scene was difficult for the officers who responded, particularly because children were present inside a place families relied on for care.
Police in Hopkins and Burnsville continued working to establish the timing and circumstances of all four deaths Thursday. The identities of the family members had not been publicly released, and authorities said the motive remained unknown as the investigation continued.
Author note: Last updated August 13, 2026.