The attorney general decided that the fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was justified over a non-threatening shoplifting incident. The family has hired an attorney who tells a different story. After reviewing the police bodycam footage from that day, the attorney found that the fatal shot came from the side of the vehicle; therefore, it was unjustified.

Fatal Shooting of 1-Year-Old

On June 14, 2026, a 1-year-old boy was shot in Mississippi by a police officer responding to an alleged shoplifting call at a local Walmart. The officer began firing shots at the moving vehicle, with one entering through the side and killing the baby.

On Thursday, October 22, 2026, Kohen Wiley’s family hired an attorney to review the footage from the body camera that was worn by Senatobia police officer Hunter Foster, who shot and killed the baby. Foster is shown responding to the scene and chasing two women accused of stealing diapers and baby clothes.

Civil rights and catastrophic personal injury attorney Ben Crump, who is also working on the Nolan Wells’ case, is representing Kohen’s family in this tragic injustice. At a news conference Thursday, Crump said the baby would have been 2 years old on November 1, so the development comes at a sensitive time.

Attorney General Justifies Shooting

On Monday, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation, and her office completed its review of the events that transpired, leading to the shooting, and they “found the use of force was justified.”

Fitch explained that since the driver of the vehicle driving the two people with a child fleeing from the Walmart was heading in the direction the officers were standing, the shooting was justified. The fatal shooting of a 1-year-old little boy was justified because an officer did not step out of the way of a moving vehicle, although the fatal shot was fired from the side where the vehicle posed no imminent danger.

The Mississippi Department of Public Safety said the officers tried to stop the vehicle, “but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one,” so they began firing their guns blindly.

Community Calls For Accountability

Kohen’s murder is yet another to set off weeks of protests from angry community members all calling for accountability and transparency from the government. In cases like this, time is of the essence, and taking weeks to investigate when the evidence is clear as day should be considered shameful.

Local activist and president of Building Bridges Coalition Marquell Bridges said at the news conference that Kohen’s family heard about the state attorney general’s decision to not bring charges through social media, instead of personally finding out their baby boy would not see justice.

Kohen’s maternal grandmother, Veronica Roberson, said leaked clips of the incident are surfacing online and that she learned of the AG’s decision through the news. “The word justified has haunted me since Monday,” she said.

An Alleged Shoplifting Incident

Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, was holding her son at the time the fatal bullet entered through the side of the car, striking the 1-year-old. Vellesiya denies stealing anything. Neither she nor her friend has been charged with anything in connection with the incident.

“Diapers are something a mother needs for a child. Diapers should never cost a baby their life,” Crump said. “This decision sends a message that a Black baby boy, his life, is not as valuable as the white diapers that he is wrapped in.”

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation told Kohen’s family that three shots were fired during the incident, according to Crump, who revealed the findings of an independent autopsy from July that indicated the fatal shot came from the side of the vehicle. He confirmed on Thursday that the bodycam footage was consistent with the autopsy’s findings.

“We continue to stand on the fact that the shot from the side of the vehicle was not justified,” Crump said, adding that he does not believe the vehicle posed an imminent threat to the officer.