A Mississippi police officer has officially resigned following intense public backlash and the release of body-camera footage showing him firing into a moving vehicle, resulting in the death of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. The tragic incident occurred during a response to a suspected shoplifting call at a Walmart in Senatobia, located approximately 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee.
Hunter Foster’s resignation was accepted by the Senatobia board of aldermen on October 21, taking effect immediately. Foster had previously been placed on administrative leave on June 16, just two days after the fatal shooting took place on June 14, 2026. Senatobia Mayor Greg Graves and city clerk Katie Harbin confirmed the resignation following state-level reviews of the incident.
Details of the Senatobia Walmart Incident
According to footage released by the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, officers responding to an unrelated call at the Walmart parking lot were alerted by an employee that suspects were fleeing a suspected shoplifting incident involving diapers. Body-camera and surveillance footage shows Foster and other officers rushing out of the store.
Within seconds, Foster aimed his weapon at a moving vehicle carrying Kohen Wiley, his mother, and another woman. Foster fired three shots into the vehicle. The gunfire injured the driver and struck 1-year-old Kohen, who died in his mother’s arms. Investigators noted that while several officers drew their weapons, all three shots were fired exclusively by Foster.
Legal Fallout and Calls for a Federal Investigation
The resignation follows an announcement by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office concluding that Foster’s use of force was legally justified. This decision drew immediate condemnation from the toddler’s family and civil rights advocates.
Prominent civil rights attorney Ben Crump, representing the Wiley family, held a press conference demanding a federal investigation into the shooting. Crump also called for Foster to be permanently decertified to prevent him from working in law enforcement elsewhere.
“The bullet that killed Kohen Wiley was not justified,” Crump stated during the press conference. “This decision sends a message that a Black baby boy, his life, is not as valuable as the white diapers that he is wrapped in.”
Kohen Wiley would have celebrated his second birthday on November 1. Neither the child’s mother nor the other woman in the vehicle has been charged with a crime in connection to the alleged shoplifting incident.
