Police Find Unthinkable Scene—Kids Watch

Police say a father killed his wife and 7-year-old daughter at their Hopkins home daycare, then shot himself, while six other children were inside and survived.

Story Snapshot

Police found three family members dead at a licensed in-home daycare in Hopkins.
Six other children were unharmed and reunited with families at the scene.
Officials linked the killings to a related death of a 78-year-old woman in Burnsville.
Police said there was no ongoing public threat and no outstanding suspects.

What Police Found Inside The Daycare

Hopkins officers responded Wednesday morning to reports of an attack at a home daycare on Tyler Avenue North. Inside, they found a 41-year-old man dead from a gunshot wound that police said appeared self-inflicted. They also found a 41-year-old woman and a 7-year-old girl dead from stab wounds. Police said the three were from the same family and described the case as a domestic homicide that ended in suicide.

Police said six other children were present in the home when officers arrived. Medics evaluated the children and found no physical injuries. Staff and police moved fast to reunite them with their parents at a safe location away from the scene. For shaken families, that clear, quick handoff mattered more than any press line. It showed the response plan for licensed home daycares can work under stress.

Linked Death In Burnsville And Why It Matters

Hours after the Hopkins scene, officials said evidence linked the daycare killings to a separate death in Burnsville. Police reported a 78-year-old woman was found dead there and was a close relative of the Hopkins suspect. That connection matters because it supports the view that the violence was contained within one family, not a random attack that could repeat in the community. Police said the suspect was dead and there was no ongoing threat.

Authorities have not released a motive. They also have not released a precise timeline for the Hopkins and Burnsville events. Police called the findings preliminary and said the investigation remains active. That is normal when detectives still need autopsy results, full witness statements, and digital records. The basic frame, though, rests on on-scene evidence: the self-inflicted gunshot wound, the stab wounds, and no sign of any other suspect on site.

Daycare Oversight, Safety, And The Parents’ Question

Police said the in-home daycare had complied with state rules since it opened in 2019. That detail matters for parents who now wonder if a license means safety. Paper compliance cannot predict a hidden domestic crisis, but it does set guardrails for staff counts, emergency plans, and reunification steps that likely helped those six children get out fast. Parents should ask providers about lock procedures, safe rooms, and reunification sites during intake and every year after.

Domestic cases that end in murder-suicide often look sudden to outsiders. Research and case work show many include private control, threats, or earlier violence that never reached a police report. That is why neighbors say, “This street was always quiet,” and they are not wrong. The warning signs live inside the home. When a case crosses into a childcare setting, it shocks the public because it breaks a mental wall between private harm and public safety.

What To Watch As The Case Moves Forward

Medical examiner findings should confirm cause and manner of death for each victim. Those reports, plus phone records and messages, may explain sequence and motive. Police have already said the public is not at risk, which fits the facts so far. That call aligns with common sense and with a conservative view of policing: treat the threat as real until you have hard evidence it is over, then say so clearly so life can return to normal.

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. https://t.co/Oh7Ma4l51b

— KSTP (@KSTP) August 13, 2026

Policy talk always follows a tragedy like this. Two steps rise above noise. First, tighten domestic-violence data sharing so civil courts, police, and child-care licensors see the same risk flags fast. Second, raise the floor on crisis planning for in-home daycares: standard drills, parent reunification kits, and a known backup site. These measures do not invade privacy. They respect families and protect kids when the worst happens behind a front door.