A 1-year-old was killed on Sunday, June 14, after an officer fired at a car during a police response to an alleged diaper shoplifting call outside a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, authorities recounted. The shooting also left one adult woman critically injured.

The child was identified by family members as Kohen Wiley. He was inside a car with his mother and another woman when gunfire happened in the Walmart parking lot, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and relatives who spoke with local media. Authorities recounted that officers from the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Office were responding to a reported shoplifting incident at the store.

The shooting has also placed renewed attention on police decision-making during encounters involving moving vehicles. After the shooting, neither the Senatobia Police Chief nor the Tate County Sheriff confirmed any suspension. No charges against the involved officers have been announced. Police Chief Harold Vanderford was unavailable for comment. Sheriff Luke Shepherd deferred questions about charges to the MBI, which has taken over the case.

 

Shepherd stated his office is conducting an independent internal review regarding paid leave for deputies. Ultimately, the MBI’s findings will face a lengthy review by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, a process that often takes months.The 

Senatobia Police Department has issued a statement which reads:

“As the investigation progresses and facts are verified, we will share as much information as possible.”

— Senatobia Police Department, Desotocountynews

According to early information released by investigators, officers met two adults and a child leaving the store and entering a car. When law enforcement attempted to stop the car, the driver allegedly drove toward officers and nearly struck one of them. An officer then fired a weapon at the car, officials recounted. The car left the scene and later arrived at a local hospital, where Kohen was pronounced dead. One adult occupant suffered critical injuries.

The incident unfolded around 2 p.m. outside the Walmart Supercenter on U.S. 51 in Senatobia, according to law enforcement officials. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation has taken the lead on the inquiry, a standard procedure in officer-involved shootings.

Investigators worked the scene. Meanwhile, grieving family members demanded answers about how a shoplifting call turned into gunfire.

“We don’t really know anything, why it happened or whatever. All we know is that car was shot up and a one-year-old baby was killed,” Carolyn Stokes, Kohen’s great-grandmother, told WREG.

Carlos Haynes, the child’s grandfather, noted, “I’m just at a loss for words, to be honest. Somebody needs to be held accountable for it.”

LiCole Wiley, a relative of the family, noted, “It didn’t have to happen this way. It could’ve been handled differently.”

One witness recounted that they heard gunshots echo across the parking lot during the chase. But they assumed officers would not shoot in broad daylight at a Walmart, according to the New York Post. A second witness noted that cops were already waiting outside before Kohen’s mother and aunt exited the store, carrying a box of diapers and cradling the toddler.