Mississippi attorney general says officer was justified in shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley

The Mississippi attorney general’s office said in a statement Monday that a state investigation found the use of force was “justified” in an officer-involved shooting in June that took the life of a 1-year-old boy.

While responding to a shoplifting call at a Walmart in Senatobia, an officer fired at a moving vehicle, killing Kohen Wiley, The Associated Press reported .

Officers believed the boy’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, and a friend stole diapers and baby clothes. Wiley was carrying her son as she and the friend exited the store, got into a car and began driving away. An officer then fired into the moving vehicle.

Wiley has denied the allegations, and court records show neither she nor her friend was charged with shoplifting or any other counts, according to the AP .

Following the shooting, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation released a statement saying officers tried to stop the vehicle, but it drove toward them, prompting one of the officers to fire into the car, striking the toddler and his mother’s friend.

Martin Zummach, an attorney representing the officer, told the AP the attorney general’s findings cleared his client of criminal wrongdoing. Zummach said the driver of the vehicle “tried to kill” his client and other officers who were present, leaving the officer no choice but to fire his weapon.

Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing Kohen’s family, called for authorities to release video footage of the encounter to support the attorney general’s finding that the shooting was a justified use of force, according to the AP report.

The shooting incident ignited outrage and tension between the police and Black residents in the small town of Senatobia, leading to protests and calls for greater police accountability.

Marquell Bridges, an activist who has been working with Kohen’s family, also called for the release of video footage of the shooting in a statement, according to the AP.

“His family deserves the truth. The public deserves transparency,” Bridges said in the AP report. “We will not be silent. We will not look away. And we will not allow the life of a Black child to be treated as though it means nothing.”