In 1972, Harrisonville was the site of escalating tensions between a handful of mostly Vietnam veterans and town elders, which culminated in a brief rampage by 25-year-old Charlie "Ootney" Simpson. In the town square, in plain view of onlookers, he killed two police officers and a bystander before shooting himself. The victims were officers Donald Marler and Francis Wirt and local businessman Orville Allen. His motivation turned out to be personal, not political; he had saved money to buy a farm, but the seller had recently backed out of the deal, and Simpson had used the money to bail his friends out of jail.