Tragic final moments of one-year-old Kohen Wiley before fatal police shooting
Bodycam footage shows the final moments before the fatal police shooting of a one-year-old boy in a Mississippi car park. The tragic events on June 14 unfolded when officers responded to an alleged shoplifting and opened fire on the child's mother who was reportedly attempting to escape.
Kohen Wiley, Vellesiya's one-year-old son, was shot outside a Walmart in Senatobia after Vellesiya Wiley and Latoya Ferrell were allegedly caught shoplifting. Kohen was struck by a bullet and sadly died as a result.
The shooting sparked outrage, but as the footage was released, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch confirmed the officers shot at the vehicle would not face any charges, with a review finding "the use of force was justified". The bodycam footage, first shared by Darkhorse Press, begins with a man running into the Walmart security office to warn the officers an active theft was underway.
He can be heard saying: "Two women are running, two women are running." Officers then ran into the car park and caught up with the vehicle as Wiley appeared to be attempting to get away.
Several officers surrounded the vehicle, ordering her to "stop the car", the clip shows. But, within seconds Ferrell, who was driving, drives towards the police and hits them with the vehicle. A number of gunshots can be heard as she accelerated forward, with officials confirming the one-year-old was shot dead.
Vellesiya claimed that the police were aware a baby was in the car as she raised Kohen in the air as the incident unfolded. She said: “I raised my baby up, trying to show that he was in the car. So she [Ferrell] was backing up and she hit a car.”
Her attorney, Ben Crump, said the two women deny the allegations they were shoplifting and neither have been charged with a crime in connection with the incident. However, it has been decided by the attorney general that the force used was 'justified' without any further reasoning given.
Wiley added: “By the time I set my baby down, it was like three to four shots. One of the shots hit him in his ribcage and the other shot hit her in her arm and her thigh."
The one-year-old was pronounced dead at a local hospital and Ferrell was also airlifted to another hospital in critical condition, according to family members.
