Bodycam footage has revealed the final moments before police fatally shot one-year-old Kohen Wiley outside a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, on June 14. The incident occurred when officers responded to a suspected shoplifting and discharged their weapons at the child's mother, who was purportedly trying to flee.
Kohen Wiley, the one-year-old son of Vellesiya Wiley, was shot and died from his injuries. Vellesiya Wiley and Latoya Ferrell were allegedly caught shoplifting at the Walmart, and Kohen was hit by a bullet during the confrontation.
Footage shows chaotic scene
The bodycam footage, initially published by Darkhorse Press, begins with a man rushing into the Walmart security office to alert officers that an active theft was in progress. He can be heard stating: "Two women are running, two women are running."
Officers then rushed into the car park and reached the vehicle as Wiley seemed to be trying to escape. Multiple officers encircled the vehicle, commanding her to "stop the car," the footage demonstrates. Within moments, Ferrell, who was behind the wheel, drove towards the police and struck them with the vehicle.
Shots fired and aftermath
Multiple gunshots can be heard as she moved forward, with authorities confirming the one-year-old was fatally shot. Vellesiya maintained that officers were aware an infant was present in the vehicle as she held Kohen aloft while the incident developed.
She stated: "I raised my baby up, trying to show that he was in the car. So she [Ferrell] was backing up and she hit a car." Wiley continued: "By the time I set my baby down, it was like three to four shots. One of the shots hit him in his ribcage and the other shot hit her in her arm and her thigh."
No charges filed
The shooting provoked widespread anger and led to allegations of police brutality. However, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch confirmed the officers who fired at the vehicle would not face prosecution, with an investigation determining "the use of force was justified."
Her attorney, Ben Crump, confirmed the two women reject the accusations of shoplifting and neither has faced criminal charges relating to the incident. The one-year-old was declared deceased at a nearby hospital, while Ferrell was airlifted to a separate hospital in critical condition, according to relatives.
