Toddler killed, one injured after Mississippi officers fire at car
Generic police lights (FOX 9)
A shoplifting call in Mississippi led to the death of a 1-year-old boy after a police officer opened fire on the vehicle the child was in, according to authorities and the child’s grandfather. The shooting also injured one other individual.
Big picture view:
The toddler’s mother, her friend, and the toddler had just left a Walmart in Senatobia and had just gotten into their vehicle when the shots rang out, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) explained.
Timeline:
The Senatobia Police Department, which had responded to a shoplifting call around 2 p.m. on Monday, tried to stop the vehicle when the driver steered toward and almost hit an officer, according to the MBI, which is investigating the shooting. An officer is reported to have fired at the vehicle as it drove off.
The child, who was identified as Kohen Wiley, was pronounced dead at the hospital, and the friend was seriously injured, according to Marquell Bridges, a community advocate who is helping the family find legal representation.
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What they're saying:
Kohen’s grandfather, Carlos Haynes, described the boy as a happy baby and said he was looking forward to seeing him grow up. "Someone ended it all before it could even start," he added.
A Walmart spokesperson said in a statement that the company was "saddened by what took place at our Senatobia, MS, store."
Dig deeper:
The Senatobia Police Department did not respond to The Associated Press’s inquiries about the shooting. It wrote in a Facebook post that "As the investigation progresses and facts are verified, we will share as much information as possible."
The Tate County Sheriff’s Office, which was also there at the time, did not comment.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.