Photos | Advocates March for Kohen Wiley in Senatobia

SENATOBIA, Miss – Almost 100 protestors gathered under the sweltering Mississippi heat on Friday, June 26, to protest the deadly police shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Kartier Wiley in Senatobia. The Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Office were on scene at the local Walmart responding to an alleged shoplifting call on June 14 when an officer shot into a moving car, killing Wiley as he sat in his mother’s lap and severely injuring a family friend.

The march wound through the streets of Senatobia, shutting down a lane of traffic and drawing support and the occasional confrontation. The goal: Justice for Kohen Wiley, the prosecution of the police officer who shot him, and, most immediately, full transparency from the police and from Walmart. Protesters demanded the release of video footage showing the moment of the shooting that claimed Kohen Wiley’s life.

Nine people stand in a row, arms over shoulders, two pumping a fist in the air — A coalition of activists spoke to the public after Friday’s march in Senatobia, Miss., on June 26, 2026. From left: Rukia Lumumba, executive director of the People’s Advocacy Institute; Melanie Marie of Ferguson, Missouri; Baba Akili, national field coordinator of Black Lives Matter Grassroots; Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. of the Black Panther Cubs; Marquell Bridges, president of the Building Bridges Coalition; Jaribu Hill, founder and executive director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights; Paloma Wu of the Mississippi Center for Justice; Amir Badat, southern states director at Fair Fight Action, and Jill Collen Jefferson, executive director of JULIAN. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

A man in a hat and "Black Lives Matter" shirt speaks outside at a gathering — Baba Akili, national field coordinator of Black Lives Matter Grassroots, addresses the media and the public on June 26, 2026, outside the Senatobia, Miss., Walmart where a police officer shot and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley. “This is a national and worldwide issue,” Akili said. “To the families: you are not alone. You are not alone and you will never be alone.” MFP Photo by Nick Judin

A man wearing a "Rest in Heaven" tshirt holds a white megaphone at a gathering — Marquell Bridges, president of the Building Bridges Coalition, led a protest march and organized much of the resistance to the police shooting of Kohen Wiley, bringing together a broad umbrella of organizations in Senatobia, Miss., to mourn and protest on June 26, 2026. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

A sign reads "Rest in Heaven. Justice for Kohen Wiley" with flowers and toys placed in front of it — At the march’s conclusion, late in the afternoon on June 26, 2026, protestors replaced the banner outside Walmart honoring 1-year-old Kohen Wiley, who died there on June 14, 2026, after a police officer shot into a moving vehicle. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

A man with a long beard walks in the street — The six-mile march through Senatobia, Miss., to protest the police killing of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley drew the rare counterprotester, like a man who engaged in a shouting match with the caravan of cars as it passed down one of the town’s main roads. As he disappeared into a local store, he screamed, “White power, motherf–ker,” on June 26, 2026. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

A man wearing a "Rest in Heaven" tshirt holds a white megaphone at a gathering in the road — The June 26, 2026, protest over the police killing of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was originally intended to reach the Senatobia Police Department, but road closures blocked the main passage to the front of the station. Instead, the march continued in a long loop around the center of the city, the caravan of cars following growing as the day went on. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

People march down the road, some carrying yellow signs. At the front of the march people carry a sign that says "Rest in Heaven Kohen Wley" — Despite the oppressive heat beating down on the streets of Senatobia, almost 100 protestors marched for hours through the heart of the city on June 26, 2026, shutting down one lane of traffic across the town, protesting police brutality and calling for the release of surveillance video that shows the shooting of Kohen Wiley. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

Closeup of a man, tattoos visible on his face. One reads "Sonya" and another "Kohen" with a broken heart drawn below — Members of Kohen Wiley’s family, like his father, Davion Williams, seen here, were in attendance at the march and the town hall in Senatobia, Miss., on June 26, 2026. MFP Photo by Nick Judin

Follow the Mississippi Free Press’ coverage of the shooting of Kohen Wiley and read past stories here.

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