About 100 Protest in Senatobia Over 1-Year-Old's Killing as Police Withhold Footage
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 26
About 100 Protest in Senatobia Over 1-Year-Old's Killing as Police Withhold Footage
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 26
Summary
About 100 protesters marched in Senatobia on Friday over the 14 June police shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, rerouting repeatedly as officers and barricades blocked access to the police station.
The demonstrations center on demands for body-camera and security footage after Mississippi authorities said officers were responding to an alleged diaper theft and shot into a vehicle they say drove toward police.
Kohen's family and witnesses dispute that account, noting no shoplifting charges were filed and saying the diapers were paid for; the bullet also injured the woman driving the vehicle.
Walmart was closed and barricaded during Friday's protest, days after officers used tear gas at an earlier gathering outside the store.
Friday's march came before a town hall with outside activists, while Kohen's viewing was set for later that day and his funeral for Saturday afternoon.
With conflicting stories and withheld footage, what truly happened in the moments before police killed a one-year-old?
Can an alleged diaper theft ever justify a police response that leaves a baby dead and a community demanding answers?
Is a baby's death the breaking point for a town's long-simmering tensions between its Black residents and police?
Fatal Police Shooting of 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley in Senatobia: Conflicting Accounts, Community Outcry, and Demands for Transparency
Overview
On June 14, 2026, law enforcement officers in Senatobia, Mississippi, responded to a shoplifting call and encountered two adults with a child entering a vehicle. As officers tried to stop the vehicle, the driver reportedly drove toward them, leading one officer to fire their weapon. This resulted in the tragic death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley and left an adult critically injured. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is actively investigating the incident, while the community demands transparency and answers about how a shoplifting call escalated to a fatal shooting.