A mother has recounted her horror after her one-year-old son was shot dead when police responding to an alleged shoplifting call opened fire on a vehicle in Senatobia, Mississippi.
Mother's Account of the Incident
Vellesiya Wiley said she had been trying to show officers that her son Kohen was inside the car moments before the police opened fire on Sunday afternoon. The mother said she had been shopping at Walmart with Kohen and a friend when officers from the Senatobia Police Department and Tate County Sheriff's Office approached them over allegations that her friend had stolen nappies.
According to Vellesiya, her friend was backing up the car when officers approached with their guns drawn. She stated: "I raised my baby up, trying to show that he was in the car. So she [her friend] was backing up and she hit a car."
"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," she added. Baby Kohen was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, while Vellesiya's friend was airlifted to another hospital and remains in critical condition, according to family members.
Family's Grief and Demand for Justice
Kohen's grandfather, Carlos Haynes, described him as a happy baby whose life was cut short. He told AP: "Someone ended it all before it could even start." Vellesiya insisted that neither she nor her friend had committed any crime and said security footage from the self-checkout area would show her friend paying for the nappies. No charges have been filed against them.
She also disputed claims that the vehicle had been driven towards officers, saying: "They were all on the right side, and she was driving towards the left." Community advocate Marquell Bridges, who is assisting the family, said the child's mother "was not a witness to or accomplice to any crime." He added: "She was skipping and playing with her child, Kohen, to the car moments earlier, not fleeing a theft. What started as an ordinary day turned into the worst day of a mother's life."
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said: "Kohen Wiley was a baby. His mother says she was trying to communicate to officers that there was a baby in the car. They fired anyway, leading to the death of an innocent 1-year-old. We intend to seek justice for baby Kohen."
Official Accounts and Investigation
However, there have been differing accounts of what unfolded. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) stated that officers had "encountered two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from the store into a vehicle" that then drove towards police, almost striking one officer. The agency said police attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers. An officer then discharged their weapon, firing at the vehicle. The driver drove to a nearby hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said five agents were assigned to investigate alongside the state's Attorney General's office, reviewing witness testimony, body-worn camera footage, and Walmart security footage. He emphasized the importance of keeping civility to get to the bottom of the incident.
Protests and Calls for Transparency
The shooting sparked protests outside the Walmart on Tuesday, where officers wearing gas masks deployed tear gas to disperse crowds. The officer who shot Kohen was placed on administrative leave pending the MBI investigation. Ben Crump argued on social media: "For Kohen's family, leave is not accountability!" He demanded the release of all body camera and surveillance footage.
Commissioner Tindell said the footage would not be released until the MBI finishes its investigation. The Senatobia Police Department stated it is "committed to full transparency" and is cooperating with the investigation.
