Burnsville homicide connected to Hopkins daycare deaths, police say
BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Burnsville Police Department is on the scene of a homicide Wednesday afternoon.
Police say the incident is connected to the deaths of three people, including a child, at a Hopkins daycare earlier in the day.
Hopkins daycare deaths, Burnsville homicide connected
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon police said that three adults and one child are dead after a triple murder-suicide in Hopkins and Burnsville.
Burnsville homicide investigation
What we know:
The Burnsville Police Department responded at about 12:23 p.m. to a residence in the area of Maple Island Road and Joplin Avenue on a report of a stabbing. Police say a family member called police after finding the woman dead inside the home. When officers arrived, they located the woman dead inside the residence. The incident is being investigated as a homicide.
Burnsville Police Chief Matt Smith says the victim is a 78-year-old woman, and is believed to be a close relative of the suspect in the Hopkins daycare deaths. Police say the suspect had recently been living at the Burnsville residence.
"We believe the tragedies in our two cities are linked," Smith said of the Burnsville and Hopkins deaths.
Smith was asked if the fatal Burnsville stabbing happened before the Hopkins daycare deaths, despite police responding to the Burnsville home three hours later.
"That seems to be the case, but we don’t have a timeline yet," Smith said.
Police say there is no indication of any ongoing threat to the public. The investigation is active and ongoing.
Smith said Burnsville police are still investigating how the two incidents are connected.
Hopkins daycare deaths
The backstory:
Two people and one child were found dead in an incident at an in-home daycare in Hopkins, Minnesota Wednesday morning.
Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson said officers responded to a report of a stabbing shortly after 9 a.m. at Brown Bear Daycare on the 200 block of Tyler Avenue North. Upon arrival, police found a man, woman and child dead in the home. Police say a 41-year-old woman and 7-year-old girl were killed before a 41-year-old man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
There were six other children present in the daycare at the time of the incident. Johnson said no other children were harmed. Officers were able to get all the children out of the home and reunite them with their families.
Johnson said the victims appear to be members of one family. He said investigators preliminarily believe the deceased man was the perpetrator and took his own life.
What we don't know:
What led up to the incident is under investigation.