A 1-year-old child died after police officers fired on a vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi, according to attorney Benjamin Crump.
Crump stated that Vellesiya Wiley, the mother of baby Kohen, said she was trying to show officers there was an infant in the car when they opened fire. “By the time I set my baby down, it was like three to four shots,” Wiley told reporters. “One of the shots hit him in his rib cage, and the other shots hit her in her arm and her thigh.” She also added that her friend had struck another vehicle while her door was open before she heard gunfire.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation reported that officers were responding to a shoplifting incident when they encountered two individuals and a juvenile fleeing into a vehicle. The driver drove toward the officers, nearly striking one before an officer discharged their weapon.
Senatobia police placed the officer involved on administrative leave and stated they are committed to “full transparency” in the investigation.
On Tuesday, community activists protested outside the Walmart, with police deploying tear gas to disperse the demonstration. Protest organizer Marquell Bridges said, “The only violence came from the police department when they decided to tear-gas peaceful protesters.”
