Police say a man, woman and child are dead in what is being investigated as a potential murder-suicide Wednesday morning at an in-home daycare in Hopkins that officials say is linked to a homicide in Burnsville.
Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said a parent dropping their child off at the residence on the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North reported a stabbing just after 9 a.m.
Inside, police found a 41-year-old man dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, a 41-year-old woman dead from apparent stab wounds and a 7-year-old girl also dead from stab wounds. Chief Johnson said the three were all part of the same family.
Investigators later linked the tragedy to another homicide in Burnsville. In that incident, the victim is believed to be “a close family relative” of the suspect in the Hopkins tragedy, police say.
Details of Hopkins Incident
In addition to the three people found dead, police found six children inside the Hopkins daycare, all described as “very young” and physically unharmed. They are all back with their families, Johnson said.
Johnson said the adults found dead are likely the owners of the daycare, and preliminary evidence indicates the deceased man was the “perpetrator.”
At this time, police say there isn’t any ongoing threat to the community, but the investigation remains active. Investigators are still working to determine the man’s motive.
“There’s no worse scenario than this,” Johnson said. “You drop your children off somewhere you think is safe and you get that phone call.”
Reaction
“This is a tight-knit community,” Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon said. “We don’t have strangers in Hopkins, we all know each other.”
Hanlon added, “This city has shed a lot of tears today over this incident, over this immense loss. It’s tough to put into words what this loss is for our community.”
This morning, a police officer came to her door asking if she heard anything at the home and couldn’t believe it.
“Oh my God, those poor kids. It’s just trauma, it’s pure… I just can’t imagine,” said Jean Healey, who also knew the couple who ran the daycare.
A couple also told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they were just considering sending their kids to the daycare.
“It’s just a shocker of hearing what happened,” they said.
The chief said this appeared to be an isolated incident and there was no further threat to the public.
“It’s just shocking,” Healey added. “She seemed very friendly. He seemed fine. I just can’t believe that could happen in my neighborhood.”
Investigators were still working to determine the nature of the injuries and what types of weapons were involved.
During his 2027 budget address on Wednesday morning, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey offered his thoughts and prayers to those involved, saying further that Minneapolis will help Hopkins in anyway possible.
If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, several resources are available to offer help. For immediate help, contact:
More than 12 million people just in the U.S. are affected by domestic violence every year, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
The organizations listed above can help connect victims to resources like safe shelter, advocacy, legal help and support groups.
The National Domestic Violence Hotline also offers tips for identifying abuse and supporting victims of abuse. CLICK HERE to see those.
Other organizations that can help include:
Minnesota also has a list of many other resources for victims of crimes that can be found HERE.
