Family disputes police narrative after Mississippi infant killed in car shooting
A preliminary autopsy of a one-year-old killed in a June 14 police shooting in Senatobia, Mississippi, suggests the child was shot from the side of the vehicle, contradicting officers' claim that the car was heading toward them. The family and civil-rights lawyer Ben Crump are demanding release of body-camera, dash-cam and store-surveillance footage.
A preliminary autopsy ordered by the family of Kohen Wiley indicates the infant was struck by gunfire from the side of a moving vehicle, challenging the police account that the car was advancing toward officers. The report, reviewed by civil-rights attorney Ben Crump, shows a bullet entered the child's torso on the right side and exited on the left, consistent with damage to the passenger-side window.
"We’re going to try to continue to demand transparency," Crump said from the pulpit of Senatobia Church of Christ, where supporters displayed photos and diagrams of the incident.
The shooting occurred on June 14 after police responded to a Walmart parking lot over alleged diaper shoplifting. Officers attempted to stop the car; state investigators later reported that the driver continued toward the officers, prompting one officer to fire. The passenger-side window was shattered, and a bullet hole was observed in the windshield.
Tate County Coroner Ernie Lentz said the official autopsy report is not yet complete, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation declined to comment. The family is requesting the release of police body-camera, dash-cam, and Walmart surveillance video to clarify the sequence of events.
Criminal-justice expert Ian Adams cautioned that additional evidence, including vehicle positioning and occupant locations, is needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn from wound analysis alone.
The case has drawn comparisons to other high-profile incidents involving Black individuals and police use of force, and the family maintains that the child’s mother was holding the infant in the passenger seat while a friend drove away from officers.
