A man and woman are dead after an apparent murder-suicide Friday (April 6) at the Arnold Commons complex, at Hwy. 141 and Church Road, authorities reported.
Johnny Cook, 31, apparently shot his estranged wife, Linda Cook, 32, and then himself at the retail complex, where the couple had arranged to meet, along with their three children, who were not hurt, Arnold Police reported.
After the shooting, which occurred about 6:20 p.m., the two were transported to St. Anthony’s Medical Center in south St. Louis County, where the man was pronounced dead right away and the woman was taken off life support and died at 9:50 p.m., said Lt. Tom Leassner of the Arnold Police Department.
The Cooks, who had lived in St. Louis County but were separated, apparently went to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant at Arnold Commons but ended up not having dinner there, Leassner said.
Both the man and woman had vehicles parked in front of the nearby Ross Dress for Less store, and Johnny Cook was in his wife’s vehicle, along with their children, when he allegedly shot her multiple times. Then, he reportedly got in his own vehicle, shot himself in the head, and the vehicle rolled over a curb, Leassner said.
The children were taken to the Arnold Police station and eventually turned over to a family member. Children’s Division was notified, Leassner said.
The children are 9 years old, 16 months old and 4 months old, according to a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for Linda Cook’s funeral and the care of the children.
Leassner said Linda Cook had a restraining order against her husband but had agreed to meet him for dinner.