JOPLIN (AP) - A man confronted his estranged wife in a Joplin movie theater parking lot and shot and killed an assistant football coach at Missouri Southern State University, police said Monday.
Jeffery L. Bruner, of Joplin, is jailed in Jasper County on charges of felony murder and armed criminal action in the shooting death of MSSU offensive line coach Derek Moore. No information about the case is listed online, and it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
Moore, 39, was leaving the Joplin theater Friday night when Bruner shot him, Joplin police said in a news release. After Moore fell to the ground, Bruner fired more rounds, authorities said.
Bruner was separated from his wife and confronted her and Moore. Police didn't say how Moore knew Bruner's estranged wife, and a police spokesman didn't immediately return a phone call Monday.
Witnesses detained Bruner until law enforcement arrived, police said. Moore, meanwhile, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy conducted Sunday in Kansas City showed that Moore died from several gunshot wounds.
The details were released the same day the university prepared for an afternoon memorial for Moore, who began working at the school over the summer. Among those scheduled to speak are MSSU Interim President Alan Marble, the athletics director and the head football coach, said university spokeswoman Cassie Mathes.
Missouri Southern's homecoming celebration was planned for Saturday, but Marble called off the festivities and canceled the football game.
"It was too shocking," Mathes said. "It didn't seem to be the right time to have a homecoming, the morning after."
Mathes said the school is working to reschedule the game and that the homecoming queen and king will be recognized at a basketball game next month. There also will be moment of silence for Moore during Saturday's game against Lindenwood University-Belleville.
Plans also are in the work to create a fund for Moore's 7-year-old son, Mathes said.