The Mississippi police officer who fired the shot that killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley has resigned, a city official told NBC News on Friday.
Hunter Foster, who worked for the Senatobia Police Department, turned in his badge and gun just a few days after state Attorney General Lynn Fitch’s office issued a brief statement saying the fatal shooting was a “justified” use of force.
Jada Mayer, who is Senatobia’s human resources clerk, did not say why Foster was leaving the Senatobia Police Department.
“The mayor’s office confirmed the resignation,” Mayer said.
The fatal shooting of Kohen on June 14 caused an uproar in this small town some 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee, where Black residents have complained about alleged police harassment.
The shooting happened after the officers responding to a report of a shoplifting at a local Walmart arrived and saw “two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from the store into a vehicle,” according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.
Kohen’s mother, whom her lawyer identified as Vellesiya Wiley, was a passenger. Her friend was driving. Both women are Black, as was Kohen.
“Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one,” the MBI said in a June 14 report. “An officer then discharged their weapon and the vehicle fled the scene. The subjects arrived at a local hospital where one juvenile child in the vehicle was pronounced deceased, and another subject had critical injuries.”
Kohen’s mother has disputed that account.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.