A Mississippi police officer who shot and killed a one-year-old boy outside a Walmart has quit the force, just days after state investigators cleared him of any crime.
Quick Take
- Officer Hunter Foster resigned from the Senatobia Police Department shortly after Mississippi’s Attorney General ruled the fatal shooting was justified.
- Officers were trying to stop a car tied to an alleged shoplifting call when Foster opened fire.
- Body camera video shows the car appearing to move toward officers right before shots were fired.
- Family attorney Ben Crump says the bullet that killed baby Kohen Wiley came from the side of the car, not the front.
- Senatobia’s interim police chief also resigned as public anger over the case grew.
State Clears Officer, Then He Walks Away
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office announced on October 19 that the shooting was a justified use of force. Her office said no criminal charges would be filed against Officer Hunter Foster. Days later, Foster resigned from the Senatobia Police Department, according to the city’s mayor. Resigning after a clearance is not proof of wrongdoing. But it leaves open questions about why he left a job he was legally allowed to keep.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation handled the probe instead of leaving it to the local department alone. Investigators say officers were trying to stop a fleeing vehicle when the driver “sped toward the officers,” prompting Foster to fire. That account lines up with what multiple outlets reported about the moments before the shooting.
A Shoplifting Call Ends In Tragedy
The encounter started as a response to an alleged shoplifting incident at a Walmart in Senatobia. Officers approached a group of adults and a child getting into a car in the parking lot. Released body camera footage shows the vehicle appearing to drive toward officers who had their guns drawn, just before Foster fired multiple shots. One of those bullets struck Kohen Wiley, who was riding inside.
Kohen’s mother, Alessio Wiley, has pushed back hard on the official story. She says the car was not driving toward police and claims she warned officers a baby was in the vehicle before shots were fired. The available reporting does not make clear whether officers heard that warning or how it factored into their decision to shoot.
Family Says The Fatal Shot Crossed A Line
Attorney Ben Crump, representing the Wiley family, does not dispute that the car was moving. He disputes whether Foster was still in danger when the third and final shot hit Kohen. Crump says that bullet entered from the side of the vehicle, not the front, based on footage and an independent autopsy the family commissioned. “We continue to stand on the fact that the shot from the side of the vehicle was not justified,” Crump has said.
Crump also argues the entire response was too aggressive for what started as a misdemeanor shoplifting call. He has said officers should never have drawn their weapons over suspected stolen goods, let alone fired into a car carrying two women and a baby. The Mississippi Legislative Black Caucus condemned the Attorney General’s ruling and demanded the full evidence behind it be made public.
Experts Split On A Split-Second Decision
Outside analysts reviewing the same footage have reached different conclusions, which shows how genuinely hard these cases are to judge from video alone. Charles “Joe” Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant who often serves as a use-of-force expert witness, called it a split-second decision Foster made as the car drove toward him and another officer. John Gross, who studies police shootings involving moving vehicles, reached a different view of the final shot after reviewing the same clip, questioning whether the threat still justified firing.
BREAKING: The police officer who shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley outside a Walmart in Mississippi has resigned from the department. pic.twitter.com/ybtxOxAMVQ
— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) October 24, 2026
That split mirrors a national pattern. Police researchers have long flagged vehicle shootings as uniquely risky, since officers often miss moving targets and stray rounds can strike bystanders. Many departments have adopted stricter rules limiting when officers can fire at cars precisely because split-second judgment calls like this one are so easy to get wrong and so hard to walk back once the trigger is pulled.
What Happens Next For Senatobia
Senatobia’s interim police chief has also resigned, adding to the sense that this case shook the department’s leadership beyond just one officer. Community activists say the shooting fits a longer pattern of tension between Black residents and local police, a claim the city has not formally addressed. The family is now pushing for a federal investigation, arguing that a state-led review of a state-connected shooting cannot be the final word on a child’s death.
Sources:
nbcnews.com, abcnews.com, daijiworld.com, wsmv.com, truthout.org, apnews.com
