In the late afternoon of Memorial Day, May 25, 2026, the community of Pleasant Hill, Missouri, was shattered by an act of violence that claimed the life of 45-year-old Amy Coon. A resident of nearby Strasburg, Coon was at the Price Chopper grocery store when a gunman opened fire in the parking lot. The incident, which was the first homicide in the small town in nearly two decades, also left a 16-year-old store employee injured.
Authorities quickly identified the suspect as 27-year-old Allen Prince of Pleasant Hill. According to police, after shooting Coon and the teenage boy with a bolt-action rifle, Prince was confronted by two armed citizens whose intervention may have prevented further bloodshed. Prince then reportedly turned the gun on himself. He was taken into custody and hospitalized with what authorities believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In the aftermath of the shooting, it emerged that Prince had a history of mental health issues. Court records indicated that his family had previously sought help due to his deteriorating mental state and threats of violence. The Cass County Prosecutor's Office charged Allen Prince with first-degree murder, two counts of assault, and three counts of armed criminal action. The motive for the shooting appeared to be random, with no known connection between Prince and the victims. The case overview reveals a tragic event where a woman was unexpectedly killed, a teenager was injured, and a community was left in shock by a seemingly random act of violence perpetrated by an individual with a known history of mental health struggles.
