Two adults and a child were killed Wednesday morning at a small day care center in a Minneapolis suburb, police officials said.
The three people were members of a family, Brent Johnson, the police chief in Hopkins, Minn., told reporters. The assailant, a man, was among those who died, Chief Johnson said. They have not been identified by officials.
Chief Johnson called the attack, which happened around 9 a.m., a domestic situation and said investigators did not believe there was a continuing threat. Chief Johnson said that investigators believe that the two adults who died owned the day care, which operated inside their home.
Six other children who were at the in-home day care center were reunited with their parents, he said.
“This is a horrific, tragic situation for any community, especially here in Hopkins, where we don’t see this type of crime,” Chief Johnson said.
Chief Johnson said a parent had witnessed the assault while dropping off a child at the day care and called the police.
In a statement, the police department said officers responded to “a report of a stabbing” at the day care. Earlier in the day, Chief Johnson said he could not yet disclose the type of weapon used in the attack.
Patrick Hanlon, the mayor of Hopkins, said the attack had stunned his city of about 19,000 people. “There are no strangers in this community so we are all reeling with this information,” he told reporters.
Amanda Marx, a neighbor of the day care center, said she was home Wednesday morning when she saw police vehicles coming down the street. She recalled seeing at least three officers trying to get through the front door of a house up the hill from her home before going around the back.
Moments later, she said, she saw officers escorting children out from a neighboring backyard.
She then heard a police officer request crime scene tape. Ms. Marx did not know the victims, she said, but she often saw children being dropped off and picked up at the home. She didn’t realize it was an organized child care facility, she said.
Records from the Minnesota Department of Human Services show that the center has been operating since February 2019 and is licensed to care for as many as 10 children. The center was in compliance with state standards as recently as 2025.
Jessica Morlock has lived next to the victims for 14 years but said she didn’t know them well.
The couple seemed like “really kind and generous people,” she said, adding that they had worked together on some projects such as tree maintenance between their properties.
“They kind of kept to themselves, but they seemed like a really nice family,” Ms. Morlock said.
The walkout basement of the home was set up like a child care center, Ms. Morlock said. The male resident at the home owned a lawn care business and built a playground area in the backyard, she said.
Ms. Morlock said she had left for work around 8:45 a.m. on Wednesday. Her teenage daughter was home when all the police activity started. “We’re all very shocked,” she said.
The house the police cordoned off with yellow tape has a mural on the garage that looks like a scene from the northern Minnesota lakes, with a blue lake, blue skies and pine trees reflecting in the water.
Jeff Ernst contributed reporting. Kirsten Noyes contributed research.