Armed bystanders confronted Missouri grocery store gunman before he shot himself
Two armed bystanders may have prevented more people from being shot outside a Missouri grocery store when they approached the gunman shortly after he opened fire, causing him to turn the rifle on himself, police said. A woman was killed and a teenage employee was injured.
The shooting happened at about 4:30 p.m. on Monday in the parking lot of the Price Chopper on Highway 7 in Pleasant Hill, a city southeast of Kansas City, according to Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright.
The Cass County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 27-year-old Allen Prince with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and two counts of first-degree assault.
Prince remains in custody at a local hospital, where he is in the ICU in critical but stable condition. Wright said investigators have not been able to speak with him because he is sedated.
The woman who died was identified as 45-year-old Amy Coon, who was originally from the Pleasant Hill area and had been living near Strasburg.
“Amy’s not just a victim,” Wright said. “She was a daughter. She was a mother. She was a grandmother and she was somebody that cared deeply for her family and her family cared deeply for her.”
A 16-year-old employee was also shot and remains in stable condition at a local hospital. Wright said he had previously described the victim as 17, but corrected his age on Tuesday.
Police said the suspect used a bolt-action rifle in the shooting and later turned the same weapon on himself.
Wright said two armed men from the Pleasant Hill area approached the suspect shortly after the first several shots were fired. As they approached, the suspect turned the gun on himself.
“I think that it’s a good possibility that they prevented further bloodshed,” Wright said.
The store’s parking lot was about half to three-quarters full at the time of the shooting. One of the armed bystanders held the suspect’s position while the other provided aid to the 16-year-old victim.
Wright said there are no legal implications for the two men, describing them as good Samaritans who were protecting others.
“We don’t have a motive,” Wright said. “We’re still determining: Is there any connection, what’s the causation?”
Asked whether the shooting appeared random, Wright said it was still early in the investigation but added, “It does appear very random.”
Investigators have not determined any connection between Prince and the victims beyond all of them being from the same general area, Wright said. He added that the suspect had no significant history with Pleasant Hill police but had recently been arrested in Cass County in a misdemeanor domestic-related case and was out on bond.
Wright said Pleasant Hill had not had a homicide in nearly 20 years. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office and Missouri State Highway Patrol are assisting in the investigation.
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