SENATOBIA, MISSISSIPPI — Kohen Wiley died after a police officer shot him during a traffic stop in Senatobia, Mississippi, on Sunday. The incident followed a shoplifting call at a local Walmart.

Police officers responded to the shoplifting report, where they approached two women and a child leaving the store. The individuals then entered a vehicle and drove away. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation reported that officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove toward the officers, nearly striking one officer. An officer fired a weapon at the vehicle, which then left the scene. Vellesiya Wiley, Kohen Wiley's mother, stated her son and her friend were hit by gunfire. "I raised my baby up, trying to show them that he was in the car. By the time I sat my baby down, it was like three to four shots." Wiley said.

Wiley disputed the shoplifting claim, stating she believes her friend paid for the diapers. The officer who fired the weapon has been placed on administrative leave. The bureau is conducting an inquiry into the shooting and investigators stated that video footage of the shooting will be released upon the investigation's completion.

Following the shooting, a group gathered to demonstrate outside Senatobia City Hall. "Modern policing knows that shooting into a moving vehicle is a very bad idea and one to be avoided at almost all costs. Vehicles have other occupants, which is obviously a concern here in the current case." Adams said. Kohen Wiley, his mother, and the driver are Black.

Marquell Bridges, president and founder of the Building Bridges Coalition, stated that the death marked a breaking point after years of difficult interactions between Black residents and police. He cited past incidents, including one from last year where Breshari Faulkner was threatened with a Taser, pulled from her vehicle, and arrested during a dispute over a handicapped parking space. A Senatobia officer was terminated in 2023 after participating in the arrest of a 10-year-old Black boy who urinated in a parking lot. The family of the 10-year-old boy settled a federal lawsuit with the city earlier this year.

Civil rights attorney Carlos Moore, who has represented the 10-year-old boy, said, "There is a culture there that they are above the law just because they wear a uniform." The city has a population of approximately 8,300, with about 40 percent identifying as Black, according to 2020 Census data. Records indicate the city has elected three Black aldermen since its incorporation in 1860, and the mayor and a majority of the Board of Aldermen are white.