Overview
- Police responded after a parent dropped off children and called 911, and officers found a 41-year-old man, a 41-year-old woman and a 7-year-old girl dead at Brown Bear Childcare on Wednesday, Aug. 12, while six other very young children were uninjured and reunited with their families.
- Court filings identify the victims as Nathan Brown, Kristen Ann Brown and their daughter Evie and say the woman and child died of stab wounds while a screwdriver was recovered at the scene.
- Investigators say the man was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound and have linked the Hopkins deaths to a separate Burnsville homicide of a 78-year-old close relative where the suspect had recently lived.
- State licensing records show Brown Bear Childcare was licensed to Kristen Brown in 2019 with inspections in recent years showing compliance, and a parent-witness reported receiving a newsletter saying the daycare would close because of relationship issues.
- Local officials have set up a memorial, planned a vigil, and activated victim services while Hopkins and Burnsville police continue a multi-jurisdictional evidence collection and say there is no known ongoing threat to the public.