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Home News Crime & Public Safety UPDATE: Three dead at Hopkins home daycare in suspected domestic incident, fourth...

UPDATE: Three dead at Hopkins home daycare in suspected domestic incident, fourth victim found in Burnsville

The three individuals are believed to be from the same family and the owners of the daycare, the chief said.

Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson speaks to the media near the scene of the incident late Wednesday morning. (LiveNOW from Fox/Screenshot)

This story has been updated with new information from officials Wednesday afternoon.

Three people are dead in a suspected domestic incident inside a Hopkins home daycare Wednesday morning.

The incident unfolded about 9 a.m. on the 200 block of Tyler Ave N. at Brown Bear Daycare. Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson later confirmed that two adults, a male and a female, and a juvenile were found deceased.

Details were few at the late-morning press conference as to the method of the violence, but the chief said the male is believed to be the perpetrator and is believed to have taken his own life in the incident. The three individuals are believed to be from the same family and the owners of the daycare, the chief said.

Six other children were present in the home and were reportedly unharmed. The other children were removed from the home and reunited with their families.

Chief Johnson said the incident is believed to be isolated with no other immediate danger to the neighborhood.

A search of state records revealed a daycare license registered to Kristen A. Brown at the address.

Another press conference is expected Wednesday about 4 p.m.

UPDATE:

In afternoon press releases and a press briefing, officials confirmed a fourth death in Burnsville that they said was connected to the Hopkins deaths and provided a few more details on the deceased parties.

The deceased parties in Hopkins were described as a 41-year-old adult female and 7-year-old female child who are presumed to have died from stab wounds. They were found in a lower area of the home. The 41-year-old male suspect was found deceased in an upper area of the home from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The pair were reported to be a couple, but the current status of their relationship was not confirmed, and the child belonged to the couple.

The six other children were also located unharmed in the lower level of the home. Officials did not confirm what any of those children may have witnessed or exactly where they may have been when the incident unfolded.

Police were alerted to the scene in Hopkins by another parent who arrived to drop off their child and witnessed some portion of the scene and called 911.

Burnsville Police Chief Matt Smith was present at the afternoon press briefing and stated that a deceased 78-year-old female was found about 12:30 p.m. at a residence in Burnsville from apparent stab wounds. She is believed to be a close relative of the male suspect who police learned had recently been living at the Burnsville residence in the area of Maple Island Road and Joplin Avenue.

Police said that the medical examiners will officially identify the deceased parties and their official causes of death. Information on the weapons used and what was found at the scene was also withheld pending further investigation. Police said they are still working on the timeline between the two incidents and that police did not have any prior contact with the suspect on Wednesday before being called to the home.

Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said other daycares in the community have offered to accommodate the surviving children for free in the coming days, since they’ve been left with the loss of their daycare.

Alpha News will continue to follow further developments in these cases.

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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.

 

Crime Watch MN

Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.