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Bodycam footage capturing the fatal police-involved shooting that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley has been released, months after the toddler’s death at a Walmart in Senatobia, Mississippi.
According to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, the footage was expected to be shared with Kohen’s family before officials addressed media requests. However, the video was leaked to Darkhorse Press, which then shared it with ABC.
The release comes just two days after the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office determined that the Senatobia Police Department (SPD) was justified in its use of force during the deadly June 2026 encounter.
According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI), SPD officers responded to a shoplifting call at a Walmart on U.S. Highway 51 on June 14, 2026. Upon arriving, officers allegedly saw two adults and a child walking through the parking lot before they got into a vehicle and attempted to leave. Authorities said the driver drove toward the officers, prompting one officer to fire a weapon into the car.
The vehicle subsequently left the scene but arrived at a nearby hospital shortly afterward. Kohen, who was 1 year old, was pronounced dead at the hospital. Another person was also injured in the incident.
Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, was inside the vehicle with her son when the shooting occurred. She identified her friend as the driver and disputed the account of what happened, claiming the car was traveling in the opposite direction from the officers. She also said she held Kohen up to show police that her child was inside the vehicle.
In the aftermath of the shooting, prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump announced that he would represent the Wiley family. Crump and Memphis attorney Van Turner subsequently called for the release of the officers’ bodycam footage as questions surrounding the deadly encounter continued.
“We want to see the body cam footage from the officers,” Turner said during an interview with ABC24. “We also want to see the footage from Walmart, and the family is just wondering why the officer dispatched his service gun, knowing that there was a child in the car.”
The following month, Crump released findings from an independent autopsy of Kohen’s body. According to the reported findings, Kohen died after being shot in the torso, with the bullet entering through his right side and exiting through his left.
Crump’s legal team also shared a photo of the vehicle, which appeared to show bullet holes in the passenger side of the windshield and a shattered passenger-side window.
Officials have stated that the family will be given the opportunity to review the footage before authorities begin fulfilling public records requests.