A one-year-old boy was shot and killed by a Mississippi police officer who opened fire on a vehicle during a response to an alleged shoplifting incident at Walmart. The child, identified as Kohen Kartier Wiley, was in the car with his mother and aunt when the shooting occurred.
Incident Details
Officers from the Senatobia Police Department stated that the mother and aunt were driving in the direction of law enforcement before the officer discharged his weapon. A police department statement indicated that officers were aware a child was present in the vehicle when they arrived at the scene.
The department said: 'Upon arrival, officers encountered two subjects and a child fleeing from the store into a vehicle. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. An officer then discharged their weapon, and the vehicle fled the scene. The subjects arrived at a local hospital, where one juvenile child in the vehicle was pronounced deceased, and another subject had critical injuries. No law enforcement officers received any serious physical injury.'
Witness Accounts
One witness reported seeing police waiting in the parking lot as the two women exited Walmart, one holding a box of diapers and the other carrying baby Kohen. Another witness described the scene: 'I saw the officers take off running, not in the car, I’m talking about on foot, and these are the Sheriffs and the police. They’re running through the parking lot, and I see the car take off, you know, so in my head, I’m like, I know they’re not chasing the car, they don’t think they’re going to catch the car. Then I hear gunshots, and I’m like, I know they’re not shooting at a car that’s leaving in a public place, this is Walmart.'
Family Reaction
Carolyn Stokes, the baby’s great-grandmother, expressed grief and anger, telling WREG: 'Senatobia Police Department get away with too much stuff. I hear about it all the time, it’s in the news all the time, y’all probably down here all the time, recording this stuff, but it’s just too much.'
