Baby killed by police gunfire in Mississippi – community outraged

A one-year-old boy died from police gunfire in Senatobia, Mississippi, after officers responded to a shoplifting call, sparking protests and demands for justice.

Baby killed by police gunfire in Mississippi – community outraged

A one-year-old boy named Kohen Wiley was shot and killed by a police officer in the small town of Senatobia, Mississippi, after officers responded to a shoplifting call at a local Walmart on Sunday, June 14. The incident has sharpened already tense relations between law enforcement and the town's Black residents.

According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, officers tried to stop a vehicle carrying two women and the child. The driver moved toward the officers, nearly hitting one of them, and then an officer opened fire. The car then left the scene.

The child's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, claimed both her son and the friend who was driving were struck by bullets. In a video posted by civil-rights attorney Ben Crump, Wiley said the driver did not move toward the officers because they were all on the right side while she was driving left.

Wiley also disputed the theft allegation, saying she believes her friend had paid for the diapers. Ian Adams, a criminal-justice professor at the University of South Carolina, stated that the officer should not have fired at the car, noting that shooting at a moving vehicle is a very bad idea.

Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., wrote on Instagram: "We treat items on a shelf as more valuable than a child. This is not simply bad policing; it is moral collapse."

Marquell Bridges, president of the Building Bridges Coalition supporting the Wiley family, called Kohen's death "the tipping point" after years of tension. The officer who fired and the driver have been placed on leave, while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation conducts an inquiry.

Source: Ta Nea

Source: Ta Nea