Mississippi Attorney General Rules Police Shooting of One-Year-Old Justified
Source reports published 19 Oct 2026, 10:00 am – 20 Oct 2026, 8:10 am AEST
The Mississippi attorney general ruled that the fatal police shooting of Kohen Wiley, a one-year-old, in Senatobia, Mississippi, was justified. The decision followed an investigation into the incident that occurred when officers responded to a shoplifting call.
What happened
- On June 14th, officers from Senatobia, Mississippi, responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart where Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen’s mother, and Latoya Ferrell, a friend, were allegedly involved.
- According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, officers attempted to stop the vehicle driven by Ferrell, which was moving toward them.
- Sgt. Hunter Foster, the officer who fired, discharged his weapon into the vehicle, killing Kohen Wiley and wounding Ferrell.
- Martin Zummach, representing Foster, stated that the attorney general’s findings cleared Foster of criminal wrongdoing, claiming Foster "tried to kill" the officers.
- Ben Crump, representing the Wiley family, presented an independent autopsy indicating Kohen was shot from the side of the vehicle, contradicting the officers’ initial statements.
- Crump demanded the release of body-worn camera footage, citing a lack of transparency.
- John P. Gross, a firearms and ballistics expert, argued that the shooting was likely unjustified, particularly given the vehicle’s movement toward officers.
- Charles "Joe" Key, a firearms expert, suggested the image of the vehicle after the shooting indicated Foster was not personally at risk.
- Marquell Bridges, an activist supporting the family, called for the release of video footage and transparency.
- The incident has heightened tensions in Senatobia, following previous incidents including the use of racial slurs by a former police chief and the arrest of a 10-year-old Black boy for urinating in public.