Police said the suspect later turned the rifle on himself after armed bystanders confronted him in a suburban Kansas City parking lot.
PLEASANT HILL, Mo. — A 45-year-old woman was killed and a teenage grocery store employee was seriously injured after a man armed with a bolt-action rifle opened fire in a supermarket parking lot on Memorial Day, authorities said. Police identified the suspect as Allen Prince, 27, who survived a self-inflicted gunshot wound after two armed citizens approached him.
Authorities said the shooting happened shortly before 4:30 p.m. Monday outside a Cosentino’s Price Chopper along Missouri Route 7 in Pleasant Hill, a suburb about 30 miles southeast of Kansas City. Prosecutors charged Prince with first-degree murder, two counts of assault and three counts of armed criminal action. The attack killed Amy Coon, a mother and grandmother from Pleasant Hill, and wounded a 16-year-old employee who had been retrieving shopping carts in the parking lot. Investigators said the suspect remains hospitalized while the case moves forward through the criminal justice system.
Police said officers were dispatched after reports of gunfire erupted across the grocery store parking lot during one of the busiest shopping periods of the holiday weekend. Witnesses described shoppers running for cover between parked vehicles as shots rang out near the front entrance. Investigators said Coon had just finished shopping and was standing near her vehicle when she was struck by gunfire. Emergency crews pronounced her dead at the scene. The teenage employee, identified publicly only by his first name, Ayden, was hit twice while gathering shopping carts outside the store. He was transported to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, where police later said he remained in stable condition in the intensive care unit. Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright said officers believe the shooting ended after two armed residents approached Prince in the parking lot. Wright said Prince then shot himself in the head with a Winchester .243-caliber bolt-action rifle before officers secured the scene and took him into custody.
Investigators have not publicly described a motive, and authorities said there is no indication that either victim knew the suspect before the shooting. Court records reviewed after the attack showed Prince was already facing a pending harassment case filed in Cass County in 2025. According to those records, a relative accused him of making violent threats and behaving erratically inside the home. Prosecutors said the case included allegations that Prince threatened to “blow” someone’s head off during an argument. Court filings also alleged he woke during the night yelling incoherently and banging on walls. Prince denied making threats at the time and was later released on recognizance bond under conditions that prohibited him from possessing firearms and required him to obey all laws. Authorities have not explained how investigators believe he obtained the rifle used in Monday’s shooting. Police also have not said whether the weapon was legally owned or whether additional charges could be filed tied to the bond restrictions from the earlier case.
The shooting stunned Pleasant Hill, a city of roughly 8,000 residents where local officials said deadly violence is rare. Wright told reporters the city had not experienced a homicide in at least two decades. Residents gathered near the grocery store in the hours after the shooting, leaving flowers and handwritten notes near the edge of the parking lot. Friends and relatives described Coon as deeply involved with her family and community. In social media tributes shared after her death, relatives said she was known for encouraging younger family members and maintaining close relationships with neighbors and friends. One family member wrote that Coon “was a light” in the lives of people around her and said she was rarely seen without a smile. Community members also rallied around the injured teenager and his family. An online fundraiser created after the shooting said Ayden had recently started his first job at the grocery store in March and was trying to save money while attending school. His mother said the family hoped the trauma would not permanently affect his sense of safety or willingness to return to work.
Prosecutors filed formal charges within days of the attack as investigators continued reviewing witness statements and evidence collected from the scene. Authorities said detectives are examining surveillance video from the grocery store and nearby businesses to reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the shooting. Police also are expected to review the suspect’s previous contacts with law enforcement and court supervision conditions tied to the pending harassment case. Prince remained hospitalized under police guard Wednesday while recovering from the self-inflicted wound. Court officials had already scheduled him to appear in Cass County on June 3 for a hearing connected to the earlier harassment allegations before the grocery store shooting occurred. Prosecutors have not said when Prince could make his first appearance on the new charges. Under Missouri law, a conviction for first-degree murder can carry a sentence of life in prison without parole or the death penalty. Authorities said additional information about the investigation could be released after forensic testing and interviews are completed.
Residents in Pleasant Hill spent much of the week trying to process how a routine shopping trip turned deadly in a familiar neighborhood grocery store parking lot. Employees returned to the store while police tape still surrounded parts of the lot where shell casings and evidence markers had been placed after the shooting. Some shoppers described seeing workers and customers consoling each other near the entrance as officers canvassed the area. Wright praised the actions of the armed citizens who intervened during the attack, saying their response may have prevented more injuries. “This is a community that truly exists for each other,” the police chief said during a news conference. He said the men stepped forward “to prevent further violence.” At the same briefing, Wright urged residents to remember the victims and their families rather than focus solely on the suspect. “Amy’s not just a victim,” he said. “She was a daughter. She was a mother. She was a grandmother.”
The investigation remained active Thursday as police awaited additional forensic results and prosecutors prepared for the next court proceedings. Authorities said the teenage employee continued recovering at a Kansas City hospital while family members and residents mourned Coon’s death and prepared for memorial services in the coming days.