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Final moments of toddler, 1, captured on CCTV before tragic fatal police shooting
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Final moments of toddler, 1, captured on CCTV before tragic fatal police shooting The footage shows the final moments before police shot and killed a one-year-old boy after an alleged shoplifting incident in Mississippi outside a Walmart store Bodycam footage shows the tragic final moments that led to the fatal police shooting of a one-year-old boy in a Mississippi car park. The horrific events unfolded when police responded to an alleged shoplifting call on June 14 and opened fire on a...
Final moments of toddler, 1, captured on CCTV before tragic fatal police shooting
The footage shows the final moments before police shot and killed a one-year-old boy after an alleged shoplifting incident in Mississippi outside a Walmart store
Bodycam footage shows the tragic final moments that led to the fatal police shooting of a one-year-old boy in a Mississippi car park.
The horrific events unfolded when police responded to an alleged shoplifting call on June 14 and opened fire on a vehicle after the child's mother allegedly tried to escape.. The incident took place outside a Walmart in Senatobia after Vellesiya Wiley and Latoya Ferrell were allegedly caught shoplifting.
Kohen Wiley, Vellesiya's one-year-old son, was caught in the crossfire and sadly died.
The shooting triggered outrage, but the release of the bodycam footage comes as Mississippi Attorney Gerenal Lynn Fitch confirmed the officers who opened fire would not face any charges, with a review finding "the use of force was justified".
The footage, initially shared by Darkhorse Press, starts with a man running into the Walmart security office to warn the officers an active theft was in process.
He can be heard saying: "Two women are running, two women are running."
Several officers sprinted into action, running to the car park and catching up with the vehicle as Wiley appeared to be attempting to get away.
The footage then shows several officers surrounding the vehicle ordering her to "stop the car". However, within seconds Ferrell, who was driving, accelerates towards the police and hits them with the vehicle.
In the clip, a number of gunshots can be heard ringing out as she accelerated forward, and officials confirmed the one-year-old was shot dead.
Vellesiya claimed that the police were aware a baby was in the car as she raised Kohen in the air in the exchange. She said: “I raised my baby up, trying to show that he was in the car. So she [Ferrell] was backing up and she hit a car.”
Her attorney, Ben Crump, said the two women deny the allegations they were shoplifting and neither have been charged with a crime in connection with the incident.
The force used by the officers was determined as 'justified' but there was no further reasoning given.
Wiley added: “By the time I set my baby down, it was like three to four shots. One of the shots hit him in his ribcage and the other shot hit her in her arm and her thigh."
Baby Kohen was later pronounced dead at a local hospital as Ferrell airlifted to another hospital and was left in a critical condition, according to family members.