Nathan Brown, a 41-year-old landscaper from the Minneapolis area, killed his wife Kristen Ann Brown, 41, and their seven-year-old daughter Evie inside the home daycare Kristen ran in Hopkins, Minnesota, before turning the gun on himself. Police said the killings, which took place in front of six other children in Kristen's care, appear to have been triggered by Kristen's plans to leave her husband, according to a friend who received a final text from her that morning. It later emerged Nathan had also murdered his 78-year-old mother, Alice Anne Brown, at her home in Burnsville, where he was reportedly living at the time.

Kristen and Evie were stabbed to death, while Nathan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound; the bodies were discovered around 9am on Wednesday after a parent arrived to drop off their children. In a text sent to a friend at about 8.45am, Kristen said "things were crazy" and revealed her Brown Bear Childcare centre would close on 27 August, since the property belonged to Nathan and she intended to move out imminently. A friend told local media something had seemed "off" in the marriage, with suspicions of ongoing abuse. Kristen, originally from South Dakota, had trained as a teacher and vision therapist before opening the daycare in 2019 following Evie's birth, and was known for her devotion to the children in her care.