An independent autopsy of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, who was fatally shot by a Senatobia, Mississippi police officer on June 14 during a shoplifting call at a local Walmart, has been completed and its findings released today, intensifying questions about the circumstances of the shooting and renewing community outrage.
The autopsy, conducted by pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell and announced by the child’s family and civil rights attorney Ben Crump during a press conference, provides forensic details about the fatal gunshot wound that will help determine whether the officer’s account of the incident can be sustained or whether the shooting was unjustified.
Kohen was in a vehicle with his mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and a family friend when officers opened fire. According to authorities, the vehicle was leaving the Walmart parking lot after officers responded to a report of alleged shoplifting. Police said the driver drove toward officers, nearly striking one, prompting an officer to fire into the vehicle. The child’s mother has disputed this account, saying the vehicle was not directed at officers and that she had raised her son to show officers he was in the car.
The specific details revealed by the independent autopsy, particularly regarding the angle and trajectory of the bullet that struck Kohen, carry significant implications for evaluating whether police used appropriate force. The family’s legal team has emphasized that the wound trajectory could indicate whether the shot came from directly in front of the vehicle or from the side—a critical distinction in assessing whether the officer faced the imminent threat of being struck that authorities have cited as justification for firing.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump has argued that if ballistic evidence shows the bullet entered from the side of the vehicle, it would undermine claims that the driver posed an immediate threat. “If it’s verified that the bullet entered the baby’s right side of the body and exited the left side, then that means that the bullet came from the side,” Crump previously stated, questioning how officers could claim to be in harm’s way if the vehicle was not directed at them.
The shooting has sparked sustained outrage in Senatobia, a town of approximately 8,500 people located about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Protests erupted immediately after the incident, with community members gathering at city hall and the Walmart where Kohen was killed. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters gathered outside the store on the evening of June 16.
The case has also drawn attention to broader concerns about policing practices in Senatobia. Local residents and civil rights advocates have pointed to other incidents involving the police department as evidence of escalatory tactics and excessive force. In 2023, a Senatobia officer was fired for his role in arresting a 10-year-old Black boy who had urinated in a parking lot. More recently, in 2025, another resident reported being tasered and forcibly removed from her car during a confrontation over a handicapped parking space in the same Walmart lot where Kohen was killed.
Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has spoken publicly about the trauma of witnessing her son’s death. “I watched my baby take his first breath, and I watched my baby take his last breath,” she said during a press conference on June 22. “I’m still in complete disbelief about the traumatizing event that occurred that took my one and only child, baby Kohen.” The family has reported that she continues to suffer from panic attacks and nightmares.
Kohen was buried on June 27 in Pope, Mississippi, with a stuffed Bluey toy tucked into his casket. He was one month away from turning two years old. His father was too distraught to speak publicly during the family’s appeals for justice.
The officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave but has not been publicly identified. No charges have been filed, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation continues its investigation into the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The bureau has promised to release body camera footage and other video evidence once the investigation is complete, though no timeline has been provided.
The family’s legal team has demanded the immediate release of all video footage, including officer body camera recordings, dash camera video, and Walmart surveillance footage. Crump and co-counsel Van Turner argue that transparency regarding the incident is essential to building community trust in law enforcement and the investigation process.
The shooting has become emblematic of broader concerns about police accountability and the disproportionate impact of law enforcement on Black communities. Civil rights advocates have emphasized that Kohen’s death highlights the dangers that can arise when police use force in response to minor offenses, noting that the original call involved allegedly shoplifted diapers.