Teen was pushing shopping carts when he was shot at Pleasant Hill Price Chopper
A 16-year-old is in stable condition after he was shot while retrieving grocery carts at Cosentino’s Price Chopper in Pleasant Hill on Memorial Day.
Pleasant Hill police officers responded to the store just before 4:30 p.m. Monday after receiving a report that shots had been fired in the parking lot.
There, officers found the teen, which a GoFundMe identified as a Cosentino’s Price Chopper employee named Ayden; and the alleged shooter, Allen T. Prince, 27, suffering from gunshot wounds.
Ayden had a gunshot wound to his hip/abdomen area. According to the GoFundMe, he was shot twice while retrieving carts from the parking lot.
Prince had what investigators later determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. A bolt-action Winchester .243 caliber rifle was found next to him. He faces one count of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault or attempted first-degree assault and three counts of criminal action.
Amy Coon, 45, a shopper at the grocery store, was also struck while standing next to her vehicle. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The fundraiser, which did not list a last name for Ayden, said the teen is in the ICU at Children’s Mercy.
“And while he is stable, his recovery will be long and challenging,” the fundraiser said.
Ayden is one of five children, according to the fundraiser. Donations to the GoFundMe will go toward the teen’s medical expenses, travel costs for his family and “the family’s basic needs during this difficult time.”
As of Tuesday evening, the GoFundMe had raised just over $25,000, around $10,000 short of its $35,000 goal.
The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton, Laura Bauer and Nathan Pilling contributed reporting.
