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Officials investigate fire at Mississippi police department tied to fatal shooting of Black toddler
A person has been arrested in connection with a fire at the Senatobia police department in Mississippi, where an officer involved in the fatal shooting of one-year-old Kohen Wiley had worked. Federal agents are investigating the early-morning fire on 31 October as arson, but authorities have not disclosed its cause or details about the person arrested.
Wiley was shot in June while in his mother’s arms in a Walmart car park as police responded to an alleged shoplifting report. Mississippi’s attorney general later ruled the shooting justified, while an independent autopsy commissioned by the family indicated he was shot from the side of the car; the officer resigned after the ruling. The fire comes amid wider scrutiny of the department, including protests over Wiley’s death and other incidents involving Black residents.
In short
- A person was arrested after a fire at Senatobia police department.
- Federal agents are investigating the 31 October fire as arson.
- The department has faced scrutiny since Kohen Wiley’s fatal shooting.
Explained simply
In June, one-year-old Kohen Wiley was shot dead in his mother’s arms in a Walmart car park in Senatobia, Mississippi, as police responded to a report of alleged shoplifting. The officer involved had worked for the Senatobia Police Department.
Mississippi’s attorney general ruled the shooting justified, while an independent autopsy commissioned by Wiley’s family said he was shot from the side of the car. The officer resigned after the ruling, and the death prompted protests and wider scrutiny of the department’s treatment of Black residents.
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