Bodycam footage released of toddler killed in Mississippi police shooting

Mississippi authorities have released body‑camera footage showing a one‑year‑old child fatally shot by a police officer in a Walmart car park on 14 June.

The video shows five officers running toward a moving vehicle with guns drawn after being told shoplifters were fleeing. The car, carrying the toddler, Kohen Wiley, his mother Vellesiya Wiley and another woman, reverses, hits a parked car and then moves forward.

Details of the shooting

As the vehicle passes the officer wearing the body camera, he shouts “Stop!” and fires four shots, shattering the passenger‑side window. The car continues slowly through the car park. CCTV from the store appears to show another officer near the front of the moving vehicle at the moment of fire.

State Attorney General investigations concluded the officer’s use of force was justified. The officer, identified as Hunter Foster, has since resigned, confirmed by Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves.

Representing the officer, lawyer Martin Zummach said the driver was attempting to kill the five officers and that his client “had no choice but to discharge his weapon”. The family, represented by civil‑rights lawyer Ben Crump, disputes the justification, calling the response “excessive from the very start”.

No charges have been filed against the mother or her companion, who deny stealing nappies. The boy’s death has prompted protests and vigils across Mississippi.

Source: BBC News. Photo: Chris The Island / Pexels.