What was the motive in the Pleasant Hill Price Chopper shooting? Here’s what police say
Police said Tuesday morning they had not yet identified a motive in a shooting in a Pleasant Hill grocery store parking lot that left one woman dead and a teenager injured.
After firing shots in the parking lot of the Cosentino’s Price Chopper at 2102 N. Missouri 7 around 4:30 p.m. Monday, the alleged shooter shot himself when he was confronted by two armed citizens, police said.
Police identified the woman who was killed in the shooting as Amy Coon, 45. A 16-year-old employee at the grocery store was also shot but was described as “stable” Tuesday morning.
The alleged shooter, who was identified as Allen Prince, 27, had critical injuries and was in an intensive care unit at a local hospital, police said.
Cass County prosecutors charged Prince with one count of first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree assault or attempted first-degree assault and three counts of armed criminal action.
Motive
In a news conference Tuesday morning, Pleasant Hill Police Chief Tommy Wright said investigators were still working to identify a motive for the shooting. He said police have not identified ties among Prince and the victims.
“It does appear very random, but ... as we get 24, 36, 48 hours into this, we should know a little more,” he said.
Wright said Prince was sedated at a local hospital and said investigators had not yet been able to talk to him.
“We want to look at the totality of this,” he said. “Is this something that was planned? Is there something that the community could have seen? Is there something that the parents could have seen? Is there anything that would have been indicative that this was going to happen yesterday? We just haven’t seen that yet, but we’re still going to look.”
Citizen response
Wright said that after Prince began shooting in the Price Chopper parking lot, two armed citizens from the Pleasant Hill area approached him. When they confronted him, Prince shot himself, Wright said.
“I think that it’s a good possibility that they prevented further bloodshed,” Wright said, applauding their actions.
Victim lived nearby
Wright said Coon was a resident of nearby Strasburg area but was originally from the Pleasant Hill area.
“Amy’s not just a victim,” he 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. People need to keep that in mind. This family needs your prayers and your support.”
