By SOPHIE BATES
Contributing Writer
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) — A Black toddler was killed and his mother’s friend seriously wounded in a Walmart parking lot after a Mississippi police officer shot inside their vehicle while responding to a call about stolen diapers, officials and family members said.
Kohen Wiley, 1, was fatally shot as officers responded to an alleged shoplifting at a Mississippi Walmart June 14, officials said. The child’s mother, her friend and Wiley were in the vehicle when an officer fired inside, said Marquell Bridges, a local community advocate who is helping the family find legal representation.
Wiley’s mother — who has not been identified — was physically unharmed, but her friend was seriously injured, said Bridges, president and founder of an advocacy group called the Building Bridges Coalition. The two women drove to a nearby hospital, where Wiley was pronounced dead.
Officials said the incident unfolded after the three victims had gotten into their vehicle outside a Walmart in Senatobia, about 40 miles south of Memphis. As officers tried to stop the vehicle, the driver drove toward them and almost hit an officer, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which has taken over the case. An officer then shot at the vehicle, which drove away.
The Senatobia Police Department, which responded to the call, did not immediately reply to media inquiries.
“As the investigation progresses and facts are verified, we will share as much information as possible,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.
The Tate County Sheriff’s Office, which also had officers on the scene, declined to comment. Walmart said it is working with law enforcement during the investigation.
Wiley’s family, meanwhile, is demanding answers for how a shoplifting response could quickly turn so violent. They also disputed speculations that Kohen’s mother and aunt were stealing diapers from the megastore, according to a report in the New York Post.
“We don’t really know anything, why it happened or whatever. All we know is that car was shot up and a 1-year-old baby was killed,” Carolyn Stokes, Kohen’s great-grandmother, told local news station WREG.
Wiley’s grandfather Carlos Haynes described his grandson as a happy baby and said he was looking forward to watching him grow.
“Someone ended it all before it could even start,” Haynes said. “I’m just at a loss for words, to be honest. Somebody needs to held accountable for it.”
It was not immediately clear whether any disciplinary action would be taken against the officers involved.
Sophie Bates writes for the Associated Press.
