ALBAWABA - Senatobia, Mississippi, recently witnessed a tragic incident when a 1-year-old baby, Kohen Wiley, was shot dead by local police outside a Walmart, while his mother was left in critical condition.
According to WREG News Channel 3, Kohen's family told news outlets that the baby died when a bullet pierced the heavily damaged car.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation claims that the officers were deployed to the store after receiving a call of alleged shoplifting. The investigation unit added that two officers saw two adults rush into their car and drive it towards them, nearly hitting an officer.
Baby killed in fatal Walmart police shooting over 'stolen' diapers
Reports indicate that at least one officer shot at the car. However, the vehicle still took off, and Kohen was later confirmed dead after arriving at the hospital.
In a video released by civil rights attorney Ben Crump, Kohen's mother, Vallesiya Wiley, told her side of the story. Wiley refuted the officers' claims that the car drove toward them. She explained that she walked away because neither she nor her friend were involved in the shoplifting incident.
However, she added that the officers still approached them and shot at the vehicle.
Vallesiya said during the video, "I raised my baby up, trying to show (police) that he was in the car." She added, "By the time I sat my baby down, it was like three to four shots. One of the shots hit him in his rib cage. And the other shots hit her in her arm and her thigh."
She also denied police claims that her friend was "shoplifting" and continued that the purchase of the baby diapers could have been caught by Walmart's security cameras.
In response to the tragic incident, protests erupted in the city against police brutality and gun violence in the U.S.
