A Memorial Day shopping trip turned deadly in Pleasant Hill, Missouri, when a gunman opened fire in the parking lot of a Price Chopper grocery store on North State Route 7 Highway, killing a 45-year-old woman and wounding a teenage boy who had just started his first job.
Amy Coon, of Strasburg, was going about her day when she was caught in the middle of the violence. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The shooting marks the first homicide in Pleasant Hill in nearly 20 years, according to Police Chief Tommy Wright, who said Coon was far more than a statistic in a police report.
“Amy’s not just a victim,” Wright said. “She was a daughter. She was a mother. She was a grandmother, and she was somebody who cared deeply for her family, and her family cared deeply for her.”
A 16-year-old Price Chopper employee was also struck by gunfire. The boy, who had only started working at the store in March, was transported to a nearby hospital and is listed in stable condition.
His mother spoke to reporters, saying she hoped the trauma would not discourage her son from wanting to work again. “This was his first job,” she said.
Suspect had a history of Mental Health Concerns and Prior Threats
Allen Prince, 27, of Pleasant Hill, has been charged with first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault, and three counts of armed criminal action. Court documents reveal a troubling history in the months leading up to the shooting.
Last September, Prince’s family contacted police after he threatened to kill his sister. His mother and sister told officers that his mental health had been deteriorating over several years and that everyone in the household lived in fear of him.
They described him waking in the early morning hours, yelling and banging on walls.
The family had hoped Prince would be placed on a 72-hour inpatient psychiatric evaluation. Instead, he was criminally charged with felony harassment.
Eight days after that arrest, a Cass County judge released Prince on his own recognizance. His bond conditions explicitly prohibited him from possessing firearms and required him to have no harmful contact with anyone and to obey all laws.
Prince had previously worked at the same Price Chopper where the shooting occurred and reportedly had a positive experience there. Investigators have not yet established a clear motive or confirmed whether Prince knew the victims personally.
Prince turned the rifle on himself after two armed bystanders in the parking lot approached him shortly after the shooting began.
Wright credited those two men with likely preventing further bloodshed. Prince is currently in the intensive care unit at a local hospital in critical but stable condition. Because he remains sedated, investigators have not yet been able to interview him.
Community Mourns and Rallies Around Amy Coon’s Family
Amy Coon is remembered by those who knew her as a warm, devoted woman who showed up for the people she loved.
She leaves behind children, grandchildren, and a community in grief. Her father was seen at her home the day after the shooting, picking up her dog and tending to her cat, which neighbors said was still sitting in the window.
Amy’s family is asking for financial support to help cover funeral expenses, with donations being accepted through Venmo. They have also asked for prayers during what they describe as an unimaginable time.
