A one-year-old boy from Senatobia, Mississippi died in a shooting on Sunday (June 14) after an officer mistakenly fired at the vehicle during a police response to a shooting at a Walmart. The family of the deceased toddler identified him as Kohen Wiley.
The death of Wiley has sparked outrage on social media, especially in Senatobia, a community on the border with Tennessee, just 40 miles south of Memphis. The boy’s parents and community advocates have launched a campaign demanding justice.
Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case. The Senatobia Police Department also released a statement on social media acknowledging that their officers were involved in the shooting and noting that they are committed to “full transparency.” But no details regarding the officer who fired at the vehicle have been released.
However, the family and the community members who are part of the campaign are linking an officer to the shooting, despite there being no official confirmation.
Officer Under Scanner As Case Heats Up
A police officer with the Senatobia Police Department is being linked to the shooting that killed a one-year-old Kohen Wiley, despite there being no official confirmation. Marquell Bridges, identified by the Associated Press as “a community advocate who is helping the family,” is one among many who has identified the officer.
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In a post on Facebook, Marquell Bridges alleged that the officer who shot Kohen Wiley is Hunter Foster – a Patrol Sergeant at the Senatobia Police Department, per his LinkedIn profile. Several others have also shared it across social media.
“Hunter Foster, the officer who shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Kartier Wiley, had a complaint filed against him by a fellow police officer a couple of days before shooting and killing 1 year old Kohen Wiley for using racial slurs in the police precinct,” Bridges, who was quoted by the Associated Press for their report on the case, wrote in the post.
Ht.com could not independently verify the claims linking officer Hunter Foster to the case.
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What Authorities Said
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said in a statement that the officers mistook the vehicle containing Kohen Wiley, his mother, and a friend of his mother, as the suspects fleeing the shooting parking. The three of them were leaving the parking lot.
According to the agency, the “driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one.” The officers reportedly tried to stop the car, and one officer fired at the car in response, the MBI said. Kohen Wiley was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, the family and the community advocates who are helping the family contradict the version and are demanding the release of the incident’s bodycam footage.