Overview
- Law enforcement responded to a reported shoplifting at a Senatobia Walmart and, according to the state agency, officers tried to stop a vehicle carrying two adults and a child before an officer fired and the vehicle drove to a hospital where 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was pronounced dead and an adult was critically injured.
- The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation opened a formal probe that will be turned over to the state attorney general and the Senatobia officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.
- Family lawyers including Ben Crump dispute that the child’s mother took part in theft and are demanding release of police body-camera and Walmart surveillance footage; a name circulated on social media has not been independently verified.
- Hundreds of residents held protests in Senatobia and local officials said law enforcement used tear gas to disperse crowds as calls for transparency grew.
- Local video and witness accounts show damage to the vehicle and bystanders hearing gunfire but do not clearly show the shooting or confirm that the car struck an officer, and investigators say details are preliminary as evidence and interviews are collected.