A Minnesota community is reeling after a daycare owner and her daughter were killed by the woman’s husband in what police suspect was a murder-suicide.

Kristen Brown, 41, and 7-year-old Evie Brown, were found dead last week inside a Hopkins, Minn. daycare center, the Hopkins Police Department said in a statement.

Police believe Kristen’s husband and Evie’s father, 41-year-old Nathan Brown, fatally stabbed them before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, MPR News, KARE 11 and CBS News reported, citing court documents.

The investigation revealed that on Wednesday, a parent dropping off his kid at the daycare heard children screaming inside, according to a search warrant cited by CBS News. The man entered the residence through the backdoor, which was routine, and saw Nathan stabbing Kristen and Evie with a screwdriver.

The man fled with his own child and two others at the location and called 911. Responding officers found six other children at the residence and removed them; they were physically unharmed.

Kristen was the owner of Brown Bear Daycare, and was devoted to her career as a childcare specialist.

“No matter what other jobs I held, I always wound up back working with kids,” she wrote in a 2019 Facebook post about her journey, adding that she began babysitting as young as when she was 10.

Over the years, she routinely documented her journey on social media, sharing snippets of activities with at the daycare.

About two weeks before the killings, Kristen reportedly issued a notice saying she was going to shut down the facility due to “relationship issues” with Nathan, investigators learned from the witness who called 911, according to CBS News.

Investigators say the killings have been linked to another homicide 18 miles away in Burnsville, Minn.

Officers responded to that residence on Wednesday and found 78-year-old Alice Brown deceased from apparent stabbing, the Burnsville Police Department confirms to PEOPLE.

According to KARE 12, Alice was Nathan’s mother.

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“We are completely heartbroken and devastated over this tremendous loss and tragedy,” family members of Alice, Kristen, Evie and Nathan said in a statement shared online by Hopkins police.

The families sent prayers to the daycare’s clients, adding: “The families of Brown Bear Daycare were and are so very loved and considered family.”

An online obituary set up for Kristen was taken down on Monday afternoon.

Kristen herself mourned her own mother just a few weeks ago, according to her social media, where she shared her mother’s memorial had been scheduled for July 18, just weeks before her own killing.

A community vigil for Kristen and Evie has been planned for Monday evening in Hopkins.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.