AG: Senatobia officer justified in Kohen Wiley shooting
SENATOBIA, Miss. — The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office has completed its review of the June 14, 2026 officer-involved shooting in Senatobia that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, finding the officer’s use of force was justified.
In an official statement released Monday, the Attorney General’s Office said the review followed an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, as required under Section 45-1-6 of the Mississippi Code.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT | October 19, 2026 — Statement on Officer-Involved Shooting
Today, the Office of the Attorney General announced it has completed the review of a June 14, 2026 incident in Senatobia involving one officer with the Senatobia Police Department. In this incident, the Attorney General’s Office found the use of force was justified. Pursuant to Section 45-1-6 of the Mississippi Code, the review followed an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
The finding closes the state’s criminal review of a shooting that drew national attention. On June 14, officers from the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Department responded to a shoplifting call at the Walmart on U.S. 51 in Senatobia. According to the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, two adults and a child were seen leaving the store and getting into a silver sedan; when officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver drove toward the officers, nearly striking one, and an officer discharged a weapon. The vehicle fled to a local hospital, where Kohen Wiley was pronounced dead and another adult was found to have critical injuries. (DeSoto County News’ original report)
Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, has denied that she or the family friend driving stole anything — no charges have been filed against them — and disputed that the vehicle was aimed at officers. Cellphone video obtained by Fox 13 Memphis showed the car driving away from officers, and the family’s attorneys later released a forensic analysis they said showed the officer who fired was not in harm’s way. (Read the family’s analysis)
MBI records identified the subject officer as Sgt. Hunter Foster, who was placed on administrative leave after the shooting. Foster had been accused in an internal complaint of making a racially offensive remark toward a Black officer two days before the shooting. (Prior coverage)
The case also led to the ouster of Senatobia’s police chief: on Sept. 1, the Board of Aldermen voted unanimously to fire Chief Harold Vanderford after reporting revealed he had repeatedly used racial slurs in text messages. (Read more)
On Sept. 17, Interim Police Chief Angelica Maze announced that MBI had turned its investigative findings over to the Attorney General’s Office for review. (Prior coverage)
The family retained civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has called for the release of body-camera and surveillance footage from the encounter.
By Jon Myers
