Overview
- Officers responding to a reported shoplifting at a Senatobia Walmart fired on a vehicle on June 14, and 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was later pronounced dead while another adult in the car suffered critical injuries.
- The state investigation says the driver accelerated toward officers before an officer discharged a weapon; the child’s family and several witnesses dispute that account and say the mother raised the baby to show officers he was in the car.
- The officer who fired has been placed on administrative leave and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said five agents are collecting evidence, witness statements and video to present to the state attorney general.
- Hundreds of people have protested in Senatobia over the shooting and local law enforcement deployed tear gas to disperse crowds at the Walmart, bringing national civil‑rights attention and prompting the family to retain high‑profile attorneys.
- Family lawyers are demanding immediate release of footage and accountability, and the outcome of the MBI review and the attorney general’s decision could determine whether criminal charges are filed and spur renewed scrutiny of local policing practices.