A 1-year-old boy was fatally shot by a police officer in Senatobia, Mississippi, on Sunday during a response to a shoplifting incident at a Walmart store, according to state authorities. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) stated that officers with the Senatobia Police Department arrived at the scene around 2 p.m. after receiving a report of shoplifting. Upon arrival, the officers encountered two adults and a child fleeing the store and entering a vehicle.

The MBI said the officers attempted to stop the vehicle, which then reportedly moved toward one of the officers, nearly striking them. In response, an unnamed officer fired at the vehicle as it left the scene. The vehicle subsequently arrived at a nearby hospital, where the child was pronounced dead. The Tate County coroner identified the boy as Kohen Wiley but declined to release a cause of death, citing the ongoing investigation.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Wiley family, provided additional context, noting that the child was in the vehicle with his mother and a family friend. The friend had been accused of stealing diapers, which prompted the police call. According to Crump, the mother attempted to inform officers that a child was inside the car before shots were fired. The friend remains critically injured, and no charges have been filed against the individuals in the vehicle.

Video footage obtained by a local news outlet shows a vehicle driving away from officers, with the passenger-side door briefly opening and then closing as the vehicle moves off. Several law enforcement officers are visible in the footage. The Senatobia Police Department issued a statement affirming its commitment to transparency and pledged to provide information as the investigation unfolds.

The shooting has sparked protests in Senatobia, a city of approximately 8,000 residents. On Tuesday, demonstrators gathered outside the Walmart where the incident occurred, prompting law enforcement to deploy a chemical irritant to disperse the crowd.

Sean Tindell, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, which oversees the MBI, said investigators are collecting evidence, including Walmart security videos and officers’ body-camera footage. He urged patience during the investigative process, noting that findings would be shared with the state attorney general’s office upon completion.

The Tate County Sheriff’s Office clarified that its deputies were present at the Walmart parking lot during the shooting due to an unrelated incident before assisting police.

Relatives of the victim expressed shock and sorrow. LiCole Wiley, the child’s great-grandmother, said she had not yet spoken with the child’s mother but called for justice. Walmart did not respond to requests for comment.