The situation worsened to the point that one of the hippies, Charlie Simpson, would enter the square on April 21st with an M-1 carbine and murder three people before taking his own life. After the tragic shootings, the situation with the hippies did not improve. Tiring of the situation, some Harrisonville citizens formed a vigilante group to attempt to drive the hippies off the square. The two groups would clash in the battle of the Harrisonville Square.
Through extensive research, the author, a former Harrisonville resident, tells the compelling true story of the conflict between hippie culture and polite society in the early 1970s in the small town. Hippie War: Battle for the Harrisonville Square takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey through the genesis of the problem, the murders, and what steps were taken attempting to bring the two sides together.