Senatobia, Miss. — Mississippi AG Rules Police Killing of Baby Justified

The office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch ruled Monday that the fatal police shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley was "justified," according to the Guardian. The ruling closes the state's review four months after an officer fired into a car in Senatobia, Mississippi, killing the child as he sat in his mother's lap.

Neither of the two women in the vehicle, Vellesiya Wiley, the baby's mother, and Latoya Ferrell, has been charged with a crime tied to the June 14 shoplifting call that preceded the shooting, the Guardian reported. Officials have not released evidence supporting the original allegation that the women stole a pack of diapers.

What did Mississippi's attorney general rule?

Fitch's office said the shooting by Sgt. Hunter Foster, who is identified as white in police records cited by the Guardian, was justified. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which conducted the underlying inquiry, alleged the driver "drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one," according to the Guardian's reporting on the bureau's findings.

What happened during the June 14 shooting?

Police in Senatobia, a small city near Memphis, responded to a report that Wiley and Ferrell had shoplifted diapers, the Guardian reported. According to police reports cited by the outlet, the women and the baby left the store, got into their vehicle and began driving out of the parking lot when officers arrived and drew their weapons. Wiley lifted the baby to show officers a child was in the car. Foster then fired into the vehicle, killing Kohen Wiley and wounding Ferrell, per the Guardian.

What does the independent autopsy show?

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the family, released an independent autopsy indicating Wiley was shot from the side of the car rather than the front, the Guardian reported. That finding contradicts officers' statements that Ferrell had driven toward them, Crump's team said.

What is the timeline of the case?

• June 14, 2026: Officers respond to a shoplifting call in Senatobia; Sgt. Hunter Foster fires into the car, killing Kohen Wiley and wounding Latoya Ferrell.
• Following days: Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, speaks at a press conference, saying, "I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath," according to the Guardian.
• Oct. 19, 2026: The Mississippi attorney general's office announces the shooting was justified, roughly four months after the killing, the Guardian reported.

By the numbers: Kohen Wiley was 1 year old. The attorney general's ruling came four months after the June 14 shooting, per the Guardian's reporting.

What happens next?

No criminal charges have been filed against Wiley or Ferrell over the alleged shoplifting, and officials have not released supporting evidence, the Guardian reported. It remains unclear whether or when law enforcement will release body-camera or other footage from the shooting, according to the Guardian's account. Crump's release of the independent autopsy sets up a continuing dispute over the trajectory of the fatal shot, a conflict the attorney general's justified ruling does not resolve on the public record cited by the Guardian.

This story draws on reporting by The Guardian.

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