The fatal shooting of a one-year-old boy by police responding to a shoplifting call has inflamed longstanding tensions between law enforcement and Black residents in Senatobia, Mississippi. Kohen Wiley died on June 14 after an officer fired at the vehicle he was in, hitting him and the driver. The incident has sparked protests and demands for police accountability in the town of approximately 8,000 residents.
Differing Accounts of the Shooting
Senatobia police responded to a shoplifting report at a local Walmart, where they observed two women and a child leaving the store, entering a car, and driving away. According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove toward an officer, nearly striking them, prompting an officer to fire. The vehicle then fled the scene.
Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, disputed this account. In a video posted by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, she stated that her friend was not driving toward officers because they were positioned on the right side while she drove left. Wiley also denied the shoplifting allegation, asserting that her friend had paid for the diapers.
Ian Adams, a policing expert at the University of South Carolina, criticized the officer's decision to shoot. “Modern policing knows that shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs,” he said, noting that vehicles often have other occupants.
Racial Justice Concerns Revived
Kohen was Black, and his death drew comparisons to the 2023 killing of Ta’Kiya Young, a pregnant Black mother shot by police in Ohio over a shoplifting accusation. The officer in that case was acquitted and found justified in his use of force. These incidents join a long list of Black Americans killed by police over minor offenses, including George Floyd, murdered in 2020 over a counterfeit $20 bill.
Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., condemned the shooting on Instagram: “We are treating items on a shelf as more valuable than a child. That is not just bad policing; it is a moral collapse.” She called for training reforms and policy changes to prioritize human life in police encounters.
Tensions in Senatobia
Marquell Bridges, president of the Building Bridges Coalition, said Kohen's death was “just the breaking point” after years of problematic interactions. He cited a May 2025 incident where an officer threatened a Black woman with a Taser and arrested her over a handicapped parking space at the same Walmart. In 2023, a Senatobia officer was fired for arresting a 10-year-old Black boy for urinating in a parking lot; the family later settled a federal lawsuit.
Civil rights attorney Carlos Moore, who represented the boy, stated, “There is a culture there that they are above the law – just because they wear a uniform.” The police department, mayor, and city aldermen did not respond to requests for comment. Approximately 40% of Senatobia's 8,300 residents are Black, but the mayor and most aldermen are white. The city has elected only three Black aldermen since 1860.
Investigation and Community Grief
The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave while the MBI investigates. They plan to release video footage of the shooting upon completion. Kohen's grandmother, Veronica Roberson, described him as a happy baby with “the prettiest smile you could ever imagine.” She recalled his love for a toy lawnmower that blew bubbles, saying, “That baby was my world.”
