Police tear gas crowd protesting police killing of 1-year-old in Senatobia, MS

On Sunday, police responding to a call at the Walmart in Senatobia, MS, shot into a car, killing 1-year-old Kohen Wiley and critically injuring the woman driving the car. That is about as much as can be stated with certainty about the events outside the Walmart on June 14 as virtually every other detail is disputed. Police say they were responding to an unrelated call when they were asked for assistance in apprehending a shoplifter. Two women, one carrying a baby and another carrying a box of diapers, exited the Walmart and got into a car.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation says that the car “drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one”. It’s not clear at what point in the encounter the officer fired into the car, nor how many shots were fired. Video footage of the car shows multiple bullet holes. Kohen was apparently sitting in his mother’s lap in the front passenger seat at the time of the shooting. His mother was not injured, nor were any officers seriously injured.

Marquell Bridges, a community advocate assisting Kohen’s family, claimed in a post on Facebook that the officer fired into the car “before the car was even crunk”. Bridges is calling on authorities to release all videos of the incident they have collected, including from police body cameras and dash cams and Walmart surveillance footage, to reveal the truth of what happened. However, Bridges, Kohen’s family and outraged community members may have to wait a long time for that. MBI says that they will not release the footage until their investigation of the incident is complete. MBI has promised a transparent investigation that will determine whether they refer the case to the state attorney general’s office for criminal charges.

The officer who fired the fatal shots has not been officially identified. Senatobia’s mayor and board of aldermen voted to place the officer who fired into the car on administrative leave.

Broken hearts and outrage

On Tuesday, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Walmart where Sunday’s incident occurred to demand justice for Kohen. Video published by Action News 5 shows the moment when officers fired tear gas to disperse the crowd outside the Walmart.

This scene followed a packed board of aldermen meeting where attendees demanded that the officer involved in the shooting be fired immediately, according to the Tate Record.

Kohen Wiley’s family have retained the services of famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Crump has previously served on other cases in Mississippi where racial bias was suspected in a violent incident. Crump said that Kohen’s mother had tried to communicate to officers during the incident that there was a baby in the car. “It’s just unimaginable how this ended in this baby’s death over diapers,” Mr. Crump said. “That’s why people are so outraged”.

Kohen’s family describe him as a happy baby whose life was cut tragically short. Other members of the Black community expressed fears that their loved ones could be next. Speaking to WREG, Aretha Lester, an attendee at the protest, said, “Today it’s in their community, tomorrow it’s in mine, tomorrow it might be on my doorstep. I have a child. I have grandchildren too”.

For some, Sunday’s shooting has brought to mind a previous incident involving Senatobia Police Department which made national headlines. In 2023, a Senatobia police officer arrested 10-year-old Quantavious Eason after he urinated behind his mother’s car which was parked outside a local business.