...
By Dan Gooding
Associate News Editor
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
In less than a day, thousands of dollars have been raised to help the family of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was fatally shot by a police officer in Mississippi over the weekend.
The GoFundMe, aiming to help fund the little boy's funeral and other related costs, came as tensions rose in the small town of Senatobia, and pressure grows for accountability over his death. As of Friday afternoon, the page had raised over $3,300 out of the original $5,000 target.
"This money will help the family tremendously," organizer Christopher Williams wrote on the page. "As we all know, burying your loved ones can be costly emotionally as well as monetarily. Although this won’t bring back their baby boy, this will help smooth the process and help them in their time of grief."
Read More on U.S.
...
What Happened to Kohen Wiley?
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said earlier this week that officers were responding to a shoplifting call in Senatobia on Sunday. They "encountered two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from the store into a vehicle."
As police tried to stop the vehicle, the Bureau said, the driver drove toward officers and almost hit one. An officer then shot at the vehicle before it left.
Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, said in a video posted to social media Wednesday that she was leaving the Walmart with her son when her friend was stopped by police. "I kept walking because it had nothing to do with me," she said.
Wiley said her friend then got into the vehicle and began to reverse, adding that when police officers drew their guns, she lifted up her son "to show them that he was in the car."
"By the time I sat my baby back down, it was like three or four shots. One of the shots hit him in his rib cage," she said. The other shots hit her friend "in her arm and her thigh."
They then drove to the hospital, but Kohen was later pronounced dead.
Carolyn Stokes, Kohen's great-grandmother, told Newsweek on Wednesday that she believed the officer had acted impulsively.
"It was reckless, it was unnecessary to be firing into a car," Stokes said during an interview. "Why did you draw your weapon on people that were potential shoplifters? Why did you not go into the store? Because they were rushing from the store, they could’ve just been in a hurry."
Kohen Wiley Investigation: What To Know
Authorities told Newsweek on Friday that police bodycam footage of the incident could be released within months. Mississippi Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bailey Martin said in an email that the case had been marked as a priority.
"We cannot put a specific timeframe on these types of investigations, as each case is unique and requires a thorough investigation,” Martin said.
“However, we typically aim to complete investigations within 6–9 months and this case has been made a priority. Once MBI's investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Attorney General’s Office. The file may be obtained through a public records request once the investigation is complete.”
...
Van Turner, the attorney representing the family, told Newsweek that the footage would vindicate the mother and her friend.
"What you’re going to see is this vehicle was not a threat and that that was excessive force," Turner told Newsweek on Thursday regarding the officer who fired the shot that killed Wiley. "The threat is neutralized, and you’re still using your firearms, and they’re trying to drive away from you? That’s the very definition of excessive force. We’re demanding transparency, and we hope we get it."The
Senatobia Police Department has said it is committed to full transparency, with the officer linked to the incident placed on leave.
Ongoing Tensions in Senatobia
Marquell Bridges, the president and founder of an advocacy group called the Building Bridges Coalition, which has been helping the Wiley family, told Newsweek that Kohen's death was “just the breaking point” after years of problematic interactions between Black residents and police.
"There's a long history of racism, over-policing, and brutality in Senatobia," he said. "Everyone is outraged, saddened, and heartbroken for Kohen Kartier Wiley."
Bridges pointed to an encounter last year in which an officer threatened Breshari Faulkner with a Taser, pulled her from her car onto the ground and arrested her during a confrontation over an accessible parking space in the same Walmart lot where Kohen was shot.
In 2023, a Senatobia officer was fired for his role in arresting a 10-year-old Black boy who had urinated in a different parking lot. The boy’s family settled a federal lawsuit with the city earlier this year.
Activists have also pointed to Kohen’s death as another example of a Black life lost over something of nominal value—in this case, allegedly stolen diapers.
“We are treating items on a shelf as more valuable than a child. That is not just bad policing; it is a moral collapse,” Bernice King, the daughter of civil rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr., said in a statement posted to Instagram on Wednesday.
Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell has urged the community to be patient as the MBI conducts its investigation.
"Make no mistake, this is a very tragic situation," Tindell said during a news conference earlier this week.
"I want the public to be assured that the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation will conduct its independent investigation. We have five agents working on this case, gathering statements, gathering evidence and working diligently to prepare a file to present to the AG's office," he said.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines