World · North America · 1 hr ago
Mississippi attorney general says officer justified in fatal shooting of one-year-old
Mississippi’s attorney general ruled that a Senatobia officer was justified in using force during a June incident that killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley.
Police had responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart, where Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and a friend were leaving in a car with him.
An officer fired into the car, killing Kohen and wounding his mother’s friend; neither woman has been charged with a crime.
Investigators said the car drove toward officers, but the family’s lawyer cited an independent autopsy indicating Kohen was shot from the side, not the front.
That account disputes the justification for the shooting, and Vellesiya Wiley denied that she or her friend stole anything.
The killing has added to tensions between Senatobia police and the city’s Black residents, following other incidents involving Black people and the force.
It is not clear when officials will release footage of the shooting or what further action will follow.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office said a Senatobia officer was justified in fatally shooting one-year-old Kohen Wiley.
The shooting happened on 14 June during a response to a shoplifting call at a Walmart in Senatobia.
Police reports said the car drove toward officers, while Kohen’s mother and the family’s lawyer disputed that account.
An independent autopsy indicated Kohen was shot from the side of the car, contradicting officers’ statements, according to his family’s lawyer.
The state’s conclusion was announced on 19 October, four months after the shooting.
- Who
- Senatobia police officer Sgt Hunter Foster shot and killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley.
- What
- The Mississippi attorney general’s office said the officer’s use of force was justified.
- When
- The shooting happened on 14 June. The ruling was announced on 19 October.
- Where
- Senatobia, Mississippi, at a Walmart parking lot.
- Why
- Officers were responding to a shoplifting call. Police reports said the car drove toward officers; the mother and the family’s lawyer disputed that account.
Mississippi attorney general and state investigators
Kohen Wiley's family
Whether the officer's use of force was justified
Mississippi attorney general and state investigators
The attorney general’s office said the officer was justified.
Kohen Wiley's family
The family’s lawyer disputed the officers’ account of the car moving toward them.
The car’s movement
Mississippi attorney general and state investigators
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said the car drove toward officers, almost striking one.
Kohen Wiley's family
Kohen’s mother denied that the driver headed toward officers, and an independent autopsy indicated Kohen was shot from the side of the car.
Senatobia officers responded to a shoplifting call, and Sgt Hunter Foster fatally shot Kohen Wiley in a vehicle.
A video released by Vellesiya Wiley showed her denying that she or her friend stole anything and disputing that the driver headed toward officers.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office announced that the officer’s use of force was justified.
- Victim
- Kohen Wiley, one year old
- Officer
- Sgt Hunter Foster
- Shooting date
- 14 June
- Location
- Walmart parking lot, Senatobia, Mississippi
- Ruling
- The attorney general’s office said the officer’s use of force was justified
- Investigation
- The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigated the shooting
3 sources
What people are saying
drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one
I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,
MBI has the footage. Release it, finish the investigation into Sgt Foster, and give this family the facts they have been owed since the day Kohen died.