What We Know
Kohen Wiley: Senatobia Police Shooting of a 1-Year-Old, What We Know
Video · 4:04 · Watch on YouTube
What happened to Kohen Wiley, the 1-year-old shot by a Senatobia, Mississippi police officer, and what the state's "justified" finding does and doesn't settle.
On June 14, 2026, a Senatobia police officer fired into a car in a Walmart parking lot, and 1-year-old Kohen Wiley died. On Oct. 19, 2026, the Mississippi Attorney General's Office announced it found the officer's use of force "justified." Kohen's family disputes the state's account. Outlets report no one has been charged.
What's confirmed
- June 14, 2026Police were called to the Senatobia Walmart over a reported shoplifting. According to the police report, officers fired at an oncoming vehicle; the report is two pages and does not say how the encounter escalated. Kohen was shot and died. TheGrio, July 14; AP; Mississippi Free Press
- The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation says the driver drove "in the direction of the officers, almost striking one." Mississippi Free Press; AP
- The officer was placed on leave days after the shooting. TheGrio; Live5
- July 1an independent autopsy commissioned by the family's lawyer, Ben Crump, by forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell ruled the death a homicide. Crump says it shows the shot came from the side of the car, not the front. WLOX/WLBT; AP
- Oct. 19the Attorney General's Office said it "completed the review" and "found the use of force was justified," following an MBI investigation under Section 45-1-6 of the Mississippi Code. The release names no one and does not mention charges; outlets report it likely means the officer will not face any. Mississippi AG release; Mississippi Today; Mississippi Free Press; AP
- Oct. 21clips of body-camera and surveillance video were leaked to a site called Darkhorse Press. Outlets that reviewed them describe the car backing into a parked vehicle, then accelerating; WMC Action News 5 reports it struck an officer. On one body camera an officer says "nobody knew the baby was there." The leak does not include the body camera of the officer who fired. Mississippi Free Press; WMC Action News 5; ABC News
What we don't know / what's disputed
- Whether the car was driving toward the officers, as the state says, or not, as Kohen's mother says. She also says she held her son up so officers could see him. No court has ruled on either account. Mississippi Free Press; WLOX
- What the full footage shows. The state has not released the video; the Department of Public Safety says it will release all of it within days, after the family sees it first. Mississippi Free Press; WMC
- What the state's own autopsy found. It has not been released. WLOX
- No shoplifting charge has been filed and no evidence of a theft has been released. Mississippi Free Press
What happens next
We will publish a follow-up when the Department of Public Safety officially releases the footage. No lawsuit or federal review has been reported as of Oct. 21, 2026.
Chapters
- 0:00Kohen Wiley shooting: the question
- 0:33Senatobia Walmart shooting: June 14
- 1:24Mississippi AG ruling: justified
- 1:53Kohen Wiley autopsy: the dispute
- 2:21Senatobia video leak: what's reported
- 3:03Kohen Wiley case: where it stands
Read the video transcript
On June fourteenth, a police officer fired into a car in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Mississippi, and a one-year-old boy named Kohen Wiley died. This week, the state said the shooting was justified. His family disputes the state's account. Did the car drive at the officers, or away from them?
Kohen Wiley was one year old. His mother was holding him in the car. Police in Senatobia were called to the Walmart over a reported shoplifting. According to the police report, officers fired at an oncoming vehicle.
The report is two pages, and doesn't say how the encounter escalated. Kohen was shot. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation says the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one. Kohen's mother says the car was not driving toward them, and that she held her son up so officers could see him.
No one has been charged with shoplifting. In the weeks after, protesters gathered at Senatobia City Hall and marched through town, and the family called for the video to be made public. This is the attorney general's release, dated October nineteenth. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation investigated, and the attorney general's office found the use of force was justified.
The statement names no one and doesn't mention charges. Outlets report it likely means the officer won't face any. He was placed on leave days after the shooting. The family's lawyer, Ben Crump, commissioned an independent autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr.
Roger Mitchell. It ruled the death a homicide. Crump says it shows the shot came from the side of the car, not the front. The state's own autopsy has not been released.
So what does the video show? The state has not released the body-camera or surveillance video. Clips were leaked this week to a site called Darkhorse Press. Outlets that reviewed them describe the car backing into a parked vehicle, then accelerating.
One, WMC Action News 5, reports it struck an officer. On one body camera, an officer says, quote, nobody knew the baby was there. The leak does not include the body camera of the officer who fired. The Department of Public Safety says it will release all the footage within days, after the family sees it first.
That's what outlets describe. What the video shows in full is not public. So here is where it stands. The attorney general found the force justified, and outlets report no one is charged.
The state says the car came toward the officer. The family says it did not. No court has ruled on either account. What we don't know: what the full footage shows, what the state's own autopsy found, and whether a lawsuit or federal review will follow.
None has been reported as of October twenty-first. We'll update this when the state releases the footage, and as the record changes. Subscribe and turn on notifications to follow Kohen's case.
Sources
- Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Oct. 19, 2026 statement Reportingago.state.ms.us/2026/10/19/statement-on-officer-involved-shooting-october-19-2026/
- Mississippi Free Press, Oct. 19, 2026: https://www.mississippifreepress.org (Police Shooting of 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley "Was Justified")
- Mississippi Free Press, Oct. 21, 2026 Reportingmississippifreepress.org/kohen-wiley-shooting-video-leaks-but-bodycam-from-officer-who-fired-fatal-shot-left-out/
- WLOX / WLBT, Oct. 19, 2026 Reportingwlox.com/2026/10/19/ags-office-use-force-deadly-officer-involved-shooting-1-year-old-kohen-wiley-justified/
- AP via KSAT, July 1, 2026 (independent autopsy)
- WMC Action News 5 / Gray News, Oct. 21, 2026 (leaked video)
- CNN, Oct. 19, 2026 Reportingcnn.com/2026/10/19/us/mississippi-child-shot
The record · as of Oct. 22, 2026
How we know
Primary records are court and agency documents; reporting is news coverage we checked against them. How we report.
What happens next
Verified timeline
- 2026-06-14Senatobia, MS: police responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) says two adults and a child got into a car and the driver 'drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one.' An officer fired at the car. 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was killed; the other adult passenger was wounded.abcnews.com; mississippifreepress.org; wsaw.com (CNN); pbs.org
- 2026-06-16Family identified the child publicly as Kohen Wiley. Advocate Marquell Bridges said Kohen, his mother and her friend were in the car; the mother was physically unharmed and the friend was critically injured.wsaw.com (CNN); thegrio.com
- 2026-06-16Officer who fired was placed on administrative leave, confirmed by city leaders Tuesday (June 16 evening) and described as standard procedure. Outlets dated the reports June 16-17.thegrio.com; wsaw.com (CNN); actionnews5.com
- 2026-06-16Protesters gathered outside the Senatobia Walmart Tuesday evening; police used tear gas to disperse the crowd.wsaw.com (CNN); thegrio.com
- 2026-06-22Family and attorneys demanded release of body-camera and surveillance video. MS Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said video will not be released until MBI's investigation is complete, typically six to nine months.wdam.com (AP); newsweek.com
- 2026-07-01Independent autopsy commissioned by the family (Dr. Roger Mitchell, forensic pathologist), announced by attorney Ben Crump: homicide, gunshot wound to the torso. Per Crump, the bullet entered through the passenger window, and he says that means the officer fired from the side of the car, not the front, and was not in harm's way. MBI's own autopsy was completed but its findings were not public.wlbt.com; azfamily.com (AP)
- 2026-09-01Senatobia Police Chief Harold Vanderford was fired by the Board of Aldermen over racist text messages (some predating the shooting), after the board rejected his resignation letter. Outlets tie the scrutiny of the department to the shooting; the firing is not part of the shooting investigation.mississippitoday.org; atlantablackstar.com; fox19.com
- 2026-10-19Mississippi AG Lynn Fitch's office said the use of force was justified, finding 'insufficient evidence of any criminal conduct.' It declined prosecution and closed the case. No charges against the officer. The mother and her friend were not charged.abcnews.com; pbs.org; mpbonline.org; thehill.com; mississippifreepress.org
- 2026-10-19Crump responded: 'How can anyone accept that conclusion when Kohen's family and the public still have not been allowed to see the body-camera footage?' Family has not ruled out federal and civil action. As of Oct 19, no official body-cam or Walmart surveillance video had been released.abcnews.com; pbs.org; actionnews5.com
Also in our research file
- Independent autopsy report (Dr. Roger Mitchell), released by Crump Jul 1 Primary recorddocumentcloud.org
- MFP: AG says shooting justified (Oct 19) Reportingmississippifreepress.org
- AP/ABC: Mississippi AG says force justified (Oct 19) Reportingabcnews.com
- Mississippi Today: AG ruling (Oct 19) Reportingmississippitoday.org
- Mississippi Today: two-page police report (Jul 10) Reportingmississippitoday.org
- TheGrio: police report leaves questions (Jul 14) Reportingthegrio.com
- The Intercept (Segura, Aug 6) Reportingtheintercept.com
- WLBT: Crump announces independent autopsy (Jun 20) Reportingwlbt.com
- WDAM: family remembers Kohen (Jun 23) Reportingwdam.com
- WLOX: funeral service (Jun 27) Reportingwlox.com
- MFP: findings to AG (Sep 24) Reportingmississippifreepress.org
- Newsweek: bodycam release timing Reportingnewsweek.com
- Action News 5: leaked video (Oct 21) Reportingactionnews5.com
- ABC News: AG says Mississippi police were justified (Oct 19) Reportingabcnews.com
- PBS NewsHour/AP: AG says officer's force was justified Reportingpbs.org
- Mississippi Free Press: AG says shooting justified Reportingmississippifreepress.org
- MPB: AG finds use of force justified Reportingmpbonline.org
- Action News 5: timeline and city response (Oct 19) Reportingactionnews5.com
- The Hill: AG says officer justified Reportingthehill.com
- WLBT: Independent autopsy rules death homicide (Jul 1) Reportingwlbt.com
- AP: New autopsy deepens outrage (Jul 2) Reportingazfamily.com
- CNN/Gray: Family identifies child; protests (Jun 17) Reportingwsaw.com
- TheGrio: officer on leave (Jun 17) Reportingthegrio.com
- Mississippi Today: Senatobia police chief fired (Sep 1) Reportingmississippitoday.org
- WDAM/AP: family wants video released (Jun 22) Reportingwdam.com
Updates and corrections
Photos: family of Kohen Wiley via AP and Mississippi Free Press; Mississippi Free Press
No one has been charged in this case. Claims are attributed to the people and agencies who made them. Kohen's family released the photos shown; we will remove them on request.
Spot an error? Email corrections@undercurrentdaily.com. See our corrections policy. Have information about this case? Contact the investigating agency first.
