Police still investigating two linked homicide scenes in Burnsville and Hopkins that left four people dead

Investigators say a 41-year-old mother and her 7-year-old daughter were discovered stabbed to death at a home daycare in Hopkins.

The girl's 41-year-old father was also discovered at the scene with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. He's being identified as a suspect.

Earlier in the day, a 78-year-old female being identified as a family member of the three was also stabbed in Burnsville, and police believe the same suspect is involved.

A parent coming by the home daycare to drop off their child witnessed the killings in the basement, where other kids may have been present, according to Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson.

"This is a tragic day and a horrific scene for little children to witness, if they did witness this," Johnson said.

There's already been an outpouring of support for those in the Hopkins community. A vigil is set to take place once the names of the victims are released, but it did not take long before law enforcement, clergy members, and others came to the aid of Hopkins.

"There's already been mental health professionals that have reached out that want to help in any way that they can with our communities," says Hopkins Mayor Patrick Hanlon. "The chaplains that have been working to assist in helping people understand the unfathomable that happened here today."

Hanlon says other daycare providers have also come forward to offer free care to those who went to that center where the terrible tragedy took place.

Amanda Marx, a nurse who lives across the street, didn’t realize anything was wrong until she noticed police officers trying to break down the home’s front door.

She said officers moved behind the house before reappearing and calling for crime scene tape. Later, several young children emerged — 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’s 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 “garage house” due to the colorful mural. The longtime resident said she’d never met the home’s owners and was unaware they were running Brown Bear Childcare out of the home. She didn’t recall any prior disturbances.

“I’m just trying to figure out how to explain to my 7-year-old why there’s crime scene tape on our deck,” 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 “rarity” in Hopkins and that his officers were shaken by the scene they found inside the home.

“I could see on the look on their faces that this was one of those ones that you’ll remember for your entire career, if not life,” Johnson said.