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Who is Kristen Brown? Owner of Brown Bear Childcare in focus amid tragic Hopkins daycare murder-suicide
Kristen Brown, owner of Brown Bear Childcare in Hopkins, is in focus after a murder-suicide. Police have not officially confirmed victims' identities.
The co-owners of a Hopkins, Minnesota-based daycare facility, Brown Bear Childcare, was killed in a fatal murder-suicide on Wednesday morning.
Three victims, the daycare owner, her partner and co-owner, and their child, were found deceased when police entered the house shortly after 9:00am CDT. Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson confirmed that all the victims were part of the same family who were the owners of the in-house daycare.
The department believes that the partner, an adult male, first stabbed the woman and the child, before killing himself. It is being investigated as a potential murder suicide.
Meanwhile, the tragic incident has shaken the community. Brown Bear Childcare was a residence-cum-daycare that the family ran at 236 Tyler Avenue North. It was closely associated with the local community.
“This is a horrific, tragic situation for any community, especially in Hopkins where we don’t see this type of crime,” Chief Johnson said.
Also read: Minnesota daycare stabbing: Multiple dead, including a child in Hopkins- what we know so far
Given the shocking nature of the incident, interest has turned to the family that owned the daycare on Tyler Avenue North. Though authorities have not officially identified the victims, the owner listed for the business in the official records of the city of Hopkins has sparked a lot of interest.
Who Is Kristen Brown? Owner Of Brown Bear Childcare
According to the records on Minnesota’s official Department of Human Services licensing database, Kristen Brown is listed as the owner of Brown Bear Daycare.
The records show that Brown first registered the business on February 1, 2019, under license number 109763. The business has been listed as a "Family Child Care" with its current status active, having last renewed the license on January 1, 2026.
Meanwhile, Hopkins residents who have known the owners of the daycare state that Brown ran the daycare with her husband, Michael Hunt.
The Associated Press reports that the victims in the shooting were co-owners of Brown Bear Childcare. But, as of now, the Hopkins Police Department has not confirmed the identities of the victims deceased in the stabbing and no clear links to Kristen Brown or her family has been established.
"There's no worse scenario than this, where you drop off your child somewhere you think is safe, and you get that phone call," Chief Johnson said.
"I think we can all relate: who have children and those who don't. This is just a tragic situation anywhere in the world, let alone here in Hopkins."
