A one-year-old boy riding in a car with his mother and aunt was shot and killed after a Mississippi police officer opened fire on their vehicle.
Kohen Kartier Wiley, 1, was fatally shot by an officer with the Senatobia Police Department, who was responding to an alleged shoplifting incident at a Walmart store.
According to the police, the boy’s mother and aunt were driving “in the direction of officers” when the officer discharged their weapon.
A statement released by the Senatobia Police Department indicates that officers were aware a child was inside the vehicle before the shooting.
“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,” the statement read.
“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.”
A witness said he saw officers waiting in the Walmart parking lot as the two women exited the store, with one carrying a box of diapers and the other holding baby Kohen.
Another witness recalled: “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.”
Carolyn Stokes, Kohen’s great-grandmother, condemned the shooting during an interview with WREG.
“Senatobia Police Department get away with too much stuff,” she said.
“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.”
