Black mom accused of stealing diapers at Mississippi Walmart. Then police shot into the car and killed her 1-year-old

A Black mother accused of shoplifting diapers at a Walmart in Mississippi says she and her friend had paid for the items before police opened fire on their car, killing her 1-year-old son, Kohen Wiley. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is still examining the shooting. Authorities have not charged the mother or her friend with a crime.

The shooting happened outside the Walmart on U.S. 51 in Senatobia, about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Mississippi Department of Public Safety officials said officers from the Senatobia Police Department and Tate County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shoplifting report and encountered two adults and a child leaving in a vehicle.

Authorities allege the driver drove in the direction of officers and nearly struck one of them, prompting an officer to fire at the vehicle. Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, disputes that account.

Wiley rushed her child to the hospital.

According to Wiley’s account, she was holding Kohen in the front passenger seat when police fired several shots. One bullet struck the toddler, and another adult in the vehicle also suffered gunshot wounds. The group drove to a local hospital, where Kohen died.

In an interview aired by CNN, Wiley said her friend had been accused of stealing diapers, but she maintained that the friend had paid for them at the store. Wiley also said she tried to show officers that her baby was inside the vehicle before shots were fired.

Mississippi Today reported that the police incident report later described the call as involving alleged shoplifting of baby clothes and a large package of Pampers Easy Ups diapers. The report did not establish whether the merchandise had been paid for. According to Wiley, Walmart’s self-checkout system should have documented the purchase.

The family has challenged the official explanation for the shooting.

An independent forensic examination commissioned by the family concluded that the bullet that killed Kohen entered through the passenger-side area of the vehicle, according to attorney Ben Crump and reporting by Mississippi Today. Crump has argued that the findings raise questions about whether the officer faced an immediate threat. The state has not publicly released the body-camera footage that could help establish what happened during the encounter.

The shooting sparked protests in Senatobia and demands for the release of police and Walmart surveillance footage. The Senatobia Board of Aldermen placed an officer on administrative leave two days after the shooting. MBI records later identified Senatobia Sgt. Hunter Foster as the subject of the investigation, although authorities have not publicly confirmed that Foster fired the fatal shot.

The controversy has continued beyond the shooting itself. On Sept. 1, the Senatobia Board of Aldermen unanimously fired Police Chief Harold Vanderford after reporting detailed racist language in private text messages attributed to him. Vanderford had submitted a resignation letter that day, but the board rejected it and terminated him instead.

As of Sept. 9, MBI’s investigation into Kohen’s death remains unresolved. The officer identified as the investigation’s subject remains on administrative leave; authorities have not announced criminal charges against Wiley or her friend, and the requested body-camera and surveillance footage have not been released.

In Michigan, Walmart employees incorrectly restrained a young Black man with special needs whom they suspected of shoplifting. A bystander filmed the encounter, which went viral, and the distressed man was released at the scene.