Minnesota man kills wife and child at family daycare before taking his own life

Police in Hopkins, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, said Wednesday that a man killed a woman and a child inside a small home-based daycare the two adults owned together, before taking his own life. Officers responded to a stabbing report on the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North around 9am and found two adults and a child dead inside.

Authorities described the killings as domestic-related, saying there are no outstanding suspects and no ongoing danger to the public. Investigators believe, based on preliminary findings, that the man was responsible for killing the woman and the child before dying by suicide.

Hopkins police chief Brent Johnson said another parent alerted officers after witnessing the attack while dropping off a child at Brown Bear Childcare. He said the scenario of leaving a child somewhere presumed safe only to receive such a call is among the worst imaginable, calling the incident deeply tragic for the community.

Six other children who were at the home when the attack occurred were evacuated safely and reunited with their parents; none were injured.

The identities of the two adults and the child have not been released, and Johnson declined to specify how the victims died. The motive remains under investigation.

Hopkins mayor Patrick Hanlon said the tight-knit community is reeling from the tragedy, while Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey offered condolences and pledged the city's support to those affected.

Records show the daycare has been state-licensed since 2019 with capacity for ten children, and passed compliance inspections in 2023, 2024 and 2025. Johnson noted that homicides are rare in Hopkins, a city of about 19,000 residents, adding that responding officers were visibly shaken by what they encountered at the scene.