- Police shot at a vehicle, fatally striking a 1-year-old child despite mother’s pleas
- Authorities claim the vehicle drove toward officers, but family disputes this account
- Community outraged, demanding accountability and release of video evidence
This story is absolutely heartbreaking and if justice isn’t served properly, there is going to be hell to pay.
BOSSIP previously reported on the shooting that occurred on June 14 after officers from the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports alleging that a woman was stealing a box of diapers from a local Walmart. According to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, officers confronted a vehicle that the accused was driving in the parking lot. Authorities claim the vehicle drove toward officers and nearly struck one of them, prompting an officer to open fire.
According to reporting by The Guardian, that Mississippi police officer has been placed on administrative leave one of his rounds fatally struck 1-year-old Kohen Wiley during that questionable confrontation. The family has retained the legal counsel of ubiquitious civil rights attorney Ben Crump who released the following statement to the public.
“A one-year-old child is dead because police officers in Mississippi opened fire on a car in a crowded Walmart parking lot.
“Kohen Wiley was a baby. His mother, who has not been charged with any crime, says she was trying to communicate to officers that there was a baby in the car. They fired anyway, leading to the death of an innocent one-year-old. We intend to seek justice for baby Kohen and the life that was stolen from him.”
The officer in question has not been publicly identified yet but we are confident that social media will resolve that issue soon enough. City officials confirmed that the officer has been removed from duty for the time being, which is standard procedure following a deadly police shooting. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is conducting an independent investigation and reviewing witness statements, body-camera footage, dash-camera video, and Walmart surveillance recordings.
The tragedy has led to protests in Senatobia, with demonstrators demanding justice for Kohen and the release of all video evidence. The Wiley family has retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who criticized the officers’ actions and called for accountability. State officials have urged the public to remain patient while investigators determine exactly what happened. Good luck with that. The community is not going to sit silently hoping that the historically untrustworthy police department does its job. Pressure will be applied.
Meanwhile, according to WREG, the child’s mother Vellesiya Wiley is speaking out about exactly what happened in the Walmart parking lot from her perspective. She was sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle her friend was driving when she saw police running toward them with their guns drawn and aimed toward them.
“I raised my baby up, trying to show them that he was in the car,” Wiley says in the video. “By the time I sat my baby down, it was like three to four shots.”
Wiley also refuted the police claims that the car drove toward the officers in an attempt to run them over saying that the officers were standing on her right while the vehicle was driving to the left.
“They just purposely shot at the car,” she said.
Walmart corporate released a statement regarding the fatal incident:
“We’re heartbroken by the loss of such a young life. The safety of our associates and customers is a top priority. We are working closely with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigations and will refer additional questions to authorities.”
Anything less than criminal charges for the officer, or officers, involved will be met with intense nationwide pushback and protest. Local prosecutors best choose wisely.