![\"Kohen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kohen-Wiley_courtesy-family.jpg\")
Community members plan to gather on June 16, 2026, to protest the June 14 killing of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. Photo courtesy Kohen Wiley family<\/p>\nA Mississippi police officer shot 1-year-old Kohen Kartier Wiley while responding to a shoplifting call on Sunday, killing him and critically wounding an adult.<\/p>\n
The June 14 shooting involved officers from the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff\u2019s Department. The officer shot Wiley while he was inside a silver sedan in the parking lot of a Walmart.<\/p>\n
Community members plan to gather on June 16, 2026, to protest the June 14 killing of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. Photo courtesy Kohen Wiley family<\/p>\n
The Mississippi Department of Public Safety released a statement on June 14, alleging that the shooting happened in response to one of two subjects driving \u201cin the direction of\u201d officers. A clip of cellphone video obtained by Fox 13 Memphis shows a car driving away from officers<\/a>, but it does not appear to show the shooting itself. A photo of the car<\/a> shows multiple bullet holes in the windshield, including a bullet hole on the passenger side of the front windshield.<\/p>\n Notably, the DPS statement appears to acknowledge that police witnessed the presence of Kohen Wiley prior to the individuals entering their vehicle, and before the officer discharged the weapon. The officer has not been identified.<\/p>\n \u201cLaw enforcement officers responded to a shoplifting call at Walmart on U.S. 51. Upon arrival, officers encountered two subjects and a juvenile 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,\u201d the statement read in part. \u201cAn 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Members of Kohen Wiley\u2019s family have denied that any shoplifting took place. WREG reported<\/a> that, before the shooting, a witness saw two women exit the store: one carrying a single box of diapers, and one carrying the infant child. Family told WREG that Kohen\u2019s mother was riding in the passenger seat holding the child when the officer shot him and that the aunt, who was driving, was in critical condition. Another witness told the news station that she saw the car driving away with police officers chasing after it on foot just before hearing gunshots. At present, no arrests have been announced in the incident.<\/p>\n \u201cSenatobia Police Department get away with too much stuff,\u201d WREGH reported Kohen\u2019s great-grandmother Carolyn Stokes, as saying. \u201cI hear about it all the time. It\u2019s in the news all the time. Y\u2019all probably down here all the time, recording this stuff, but it\u2019s just too much.\u201d<\/p>\n The Senatobia Police Department released a statement on social media shortly after the shooting, acknowledging that the investigation had been turned over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and promising eventual transparency.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Senatobia Police Department is currently investigating an officer-involved shooting that occurred today at approximately 2:05 PM at Walmart,\u201d the June 14 statement said. \u201cPreliminary reports indicate that officers responded to a report of shoplifting, which led to officers discharging their firearms.\u201d<\/p>\n Walmart released a statement to Action 5 News in Memphis<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re saddened by what took place at our Senatobia, MS, store,\u201d the statement reads. \u201cThe safety of our associates and customers is a top priority. We\u2019re working with law enforcement as they continue investigating.\u201d<\/p>\n Update: Members of the community gathered at Senatobia City Hall at 5 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon to call for accountability for Kohen Wiley\u2019s killing. At 6 p.m., Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell vowed a transparent investigation outside the Tate County Courthouse, even as protesters heckled him and demanded more action and information.<\/p>\n On Tuesday evening, Action News 5 reported<\/a> that law enforcement officers teargassed protesters who gathered outside the Walmart where an officer shot and killed Kohen Wiley.<\/p>\n Correction: An earlier version of this story mistakenly said there was a bullet hole in the \u201cpassenger side window\u201d due to an error introduced in editing. It should have said that the bullet hole was in the passenger side of the windshield. We apologize for the error.<\/p>\n Mississippi Free Press stories are always free because we believe everyone should have access to quality journalism. Donations from readers like you make that possible. Please click here to give to help sustain and grow vital, people-over-power journalism for Mississippians<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Kohen](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Kohen-Wiley3_courtesy-family.jpg\")
Kohen Wiley, 1, died after a police officer shot into a sedan in Senatobia, Miss., on June 14, 2026. Photo courtesy Kohen Wiley family<\/p>\n