Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced Monday that the June police shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley “was justified,” closing the state’s criminal review of a case that drew national outrage.
“Today, the Office of the Attorney General announced it has completed the review of a June 14, 2026 incident in Senatobia involving one officer with the Senatobia Police Department,” the Republican attorney general’s statement said, according to reports. “In this incident, the Attorney General’s Office found the use of force was justified.” The review followed an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, as required under state law.
A shoplifting call turns deadly
Officers were responding to a shoplifting call alleging that Wiley’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and Latoya Ferrell had stolen a pack of diapers from a Walmart, according to reports. The women exited the store with the child as officers arrived, entered their vehicle and began to leave the parking lot. Officers drew their weapons, and Vellesiya Wiley lifted her son up to show the officers that a child was in the car. One officer fired into the vehicle, killing the baby as she held him. A bullet also wounded Ferrell.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation alleged that “the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one,” according to reports. Neither woman has been charged with shoplifting. The officer was not named in the AG’s statement, though local reporting identified him as Sgt. Hunter Foster.
Family demands footage
The family’s lawyer, Benjamin Crump, denounced the ruling and called for the release of body camera and surveillance footage, which police have not made public, according to reports. Crump has argued that an independent autopsy showed the bullet entered Kohen’s body from the side, contradicting the account that the car was heading directly toward officers. “How can anyone accept that conclusion when Kohen’s family and the public still have not been allowed to see the body camera footage?” Crump said.
