Police in a Minneapolis suburb say a man who stabbed his wife and daughter before shooting himself were found dead Wednesday, Aug. 12, at an at-home day care center.

Police were notified by a parent, who was dropping off their child at the home, located in Hopkins, Minn., at about 9 a.m. The person apparently witnessed the incident that left the man, woman and child dead, Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said during a briefing of journalists near the scene that was broadcast on the LiveNow from Fox YouTube channel.

The man, 41, had lived at the home that housed the day care center with his wife, 41, and their daughter, 7, Johnson said in a second news conference in the afternoon. The man and woman were thought to be the owners of the center, he said.

When officers reported to the scene, they found the man had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Johnson said. Investigators did immediately know whether the man was currently living there, Johnson said. “It is their daughter and it is a husband and wife,” he said. “I don’t know what their current living situation is,” he said.

An additional six children, about the age of 5 or younger, were in the home at the time, Johnson said. None were injured and all have been reunited with their parents, he said.

Local media outlets reported the day care center as the Brown Bear Center, located in the city of Hopkins, about 12 miles southwest of Minneapolis, has about 19,000 residents.

Police have linked the murder-suicide with another stabbing death of another family member, a woman, aged 78, in Burnsville, Minnesota, a suburb about 18 miles south of Hopkins.

Burnsville police responded at about 12:23 p.m. Wednesday to a home where they found a woman, 78, who died from a stabbing, Police Chief Matt Smith said during the afternoon news conference. “We believe the tragedies in our two cities to be linked,” he said.

The woman found dead is believed to have been “a close family relative of the suspect in Hopkins,” Smith said.

Police did not have a timeline of the incidents, Johnson said. The names of the deceased nor the weapons involved were released by police. Investigators have not found a note from the man nor have they identified a motive, Johnson said.

‘It’s heartbreaking’

“This is a horrific, tragic situation for any community, especially here in Hopkins, where we don’t see this type of crime,” Johnson said. “The impact is felt not only here but elsewhere for every parent who has a child in a day care setting or anywhere else where they don’t have immediate control of their child. So, yes, it’s heartbreaking.”

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty addressed the situation in a statement posted on X. “We’re aware of this morning’s tragic and devastating incident in Hopkins and are working with Hopkins Police as they investigate,” she said. “Our office’s victim services division is prepared to support the individuals impacted by this incident. We will provide further updates when available.

“There’s no worse scenario than this, where you drop off your child somewhere you think is safe and you get that phone call,” Johnson said.

This is a developing story and has been updated.

Mike Snider is a national trending news reporter for USA TODAY. You can follow him on Threads, Bluesky, X and email him at  mikegsnider  &  @mikegsnider.bsky.social  &  @mikesnider & msnider@usatoday.com.