'Nobody Knew the Baby Was There': Chilling Police Admission After Cop Shot Dead Boy, 1, in Walmart Car Park

Newly published police body-camera footage captures a Mississippi officer saying he had not seen a one-year-old boy inside a car when he opened fire during a confrontation in a Walmart car park, fatally wounding the child.

Kohen Wiley was fatally shot on 14 June 2026 in Senatobia after officers responding to a suspected shoplifting incident approached a vehicle carrying his mother and great-aunt.

The recordings emerged shortly after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch's office concluded that the officer's use of deadly force was justified. The decision means Senatobia police officer Hunter Foster will not face state criminal charges over the shooting, despite the child's family continuing to question the circumstances surrounding his death.

Body-Camera Footage Captures Officers' Admission

Recordings published by Mississippi news outlet Darkhorse Press on Tuesday, 20 October, capture an exchange between officers outside a medical facility after the shooting. Hunter Foster, identified in reporting as the officer who fired the fatal shots, said he had not noticed Kohen sitting on his mother's lap.

'I didn't even see a f***ing baby in her lap,' Foster said. 'Nobody knew the baby was there,' another officer replied. 'All I saw was two females in the car.'

The footage includes three police body-camera recordings and two Walmart surveillance clips. The videos show officers pursuing two women towards a parked car after receiving information about suspected theft. Kohen's mother, Vellesiya Wiley, was holding him as she entered the passenger seat, while another woman took the wheel.

Chaotic Confrontation Ends in Gunfire

The recordings show officers approaching the car, drawing their weapons and repeatedly ordering the driver to stop. The vehicle reversed into a parked SUV before accelerating towards officers. At least one officer appeared to be in front of the car as shots were fired, although video analysis indicated that further shots were fired while an officer stood beside the vehicle.

The published footage does not include the body-camera recording of Hunter Foster, who has been identified in reporting as the officer responsible for the shooting.

Darkhorse Press reported that the vehicle appeared to make contact with two officers during the confrontation. Its account differs from the initial description provided by state investigators, who said the car had nearly struck an officer. The recordings provide additional evidence about the vehicle's movements but do not establish every detail of the encounter.

Mother Says She Tried To Show Police Her Baby

Wiley previously maintained that she had raised Kohen into view after noticing officers pointing their weapons towards the car. She said she wanted police to recognise that a child was inside. Her account has become particularly significant following the recorded conversation in which officers indicated they had not seen the toddler.

However, the newly available recordings appear to challenge other elements of her description, particularly her account of the driver's movements. Video analysis by The New York Times, Mississippi Today and Verite News found that the vehicle appeared to travel towards officers before passing between them. Neither Wiley nor the driver, Latoya Ferrell, has been charged over the suspected shoplifting.

Attorney General Clears Officer of Criminal Charges

Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced on Monday, 19 October, that her office had completed its assessment of the shooting and determined that the officer's actions were justified. The decision followed an investigation by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, although the attorney general's brief announcement did not explain the evidence supporting its conclusion.

'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,' the statement from the attorney general's office read. '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.'

Darkhorse Press identified Senatobia police officer Hunter Foster as the person who said he had not seen Kohen inside the vehicle. Foster has been identified in reporting as the officer who fired the shots that killed the toddler.