An independent review revealed that 1-year-old Kohen Wiley died from a gunshot wound to the chest fired by a Mississippi officer who wasn’t in immediate danger, attorneys said Wednesday.
The finding formally classifies the toddler’s death as homicide, escalating public scrutiny and intensifying demands for transparency.
Attorneys for Kohen's family said the preliminary forensic review found that the boy died from a shotgun blast that entered the right side of his chest and exited via his left torso as he sat in the front seat of a vehicle with his mother on June 14.
Crump announced the autopsy results during a July 1 press conference in Senatobia, Mississippi, saying the independent pathologist determined the fatal shot entered the right side of Wiley’s chest and exited the left.
The manner of death was homicide, according to the review by pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell. One or more of the boy’s major internal organs, including his heart and lungs, were severely injured, according to attorney Ben Crump, who reiterated his call for authorities to release police bodycam footage of the shooting.
"It has been over two weeks now," Crump told reporters. "We have been demanding transparency so we can get to the truth as to why a Senatobia police officer felt the need to shoot inside of a moving vehicle that he knew had two adults and an infant child."
Mitchell’s review determined that the bullet that killed Kohen had been fired through the vehicle’s passenger side window rather than the windshield, indicating the officer fired “from the side,” Crump said.
"How are you in fear of your life when you're shooting from the side?" the attorney continued. "How do you justify that?"
Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, did not attend Wednesday's press conference. She had been holding her son as they sat in the right passenger seat of a vehicle that allegedly drove toward an officer who was responding to a shoplifting report at a Walmart in Senatobia on June 14.
Wiley, an aspiring nurse, did not attend because the press conference would be a "painful reminder" of the tragic death of her only child, said Crump, who reiterated his call for police bodycam and Walmart surveillance footage to be publicly released.
"We can't get complacent," he said. "If we don't stand up for this 1-year-old baby, none of our children are safe."
Crump also called on authorities to formally identify the officer who fired the fatal shot, insisting that his law enforcement background and any prior use-of-force incidents be publicly divulged.
A probe into the police-involved shooting is being conducted by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. The inquiry remains “open and ongoing,” spokesperson Bailey Martin told Newsweek in a message Wednesday.
“No further comment will be made,” Bailey wrote.
Bailey previously said police bodycam footage of the incident would be released upon completion of the investigation, which could take up to nine months.
An online fundraiser for Kohen surpassed $27,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.
What to Know About the Shooting Death of Kohen Wiley
The death of 1‑year‑old Wiley has drawn intense public attention in Mississippi after the toddler was fatally shot during a police encounter outside a Walmart on June 14. Funeral services for Kohen were held Saturday in Pope, Mississippi, where mourners called for accountability in the police-involved shooting.
Senatobia police responded to a reported shoplifting and approached a vehicle carrying Kohen and two adults. Officers say the driver accelerated toward them, prompting one officer to fire into the car. Kohen was struck and later died.
The Senatobia officer involved has been placed on administrative leave, city officials said last month.
Kohen’s family disputes that account. Wiley has said she raised her son to show officers there was a child inside and that the vehicle was backing away—not moving toward police—when shots were fired. Attorneys representing the family have also rejected claims that anyone stole items from the store.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is leading the review of the incident, which began as officers encountered "two subjects and a juvenile" fleeing from a Walmart into a vehicle.
"Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one," the agency said last month in a statement. "An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene. The subjects arrived at a local hospital where one juvenile child in the vehicle was pronounced deceased, and another subject had critical injuries. No law enforcement officers received any serious physical injury."
Body‑camera footage is not expected to be released soon; the agency typically completes these investigations within six to nine months before forwarding findings to the Attorney General’s Office.
This story is breaking. More to follow.