Politics · October 23, 2026
Officer who shot and killed Black toddler in Mississippi resigns from police force
Sgt. Hunter Foster of the Senatobia Police Department resigned on October 21, 2026, following a June 14 shooting that killed one-year-old Kohen Wiley. The resignation came just days after Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced that the use of force was 'justified' following a state investigation. The shooting occurred in a Walmart parking lot while officers were responding to a shoplifting report; Foster fired into a moving vehicle containing the toddler, his mother, and another woman. While state officials and Foster's attorney maintain the vehicle was driving toward officers, the family's attorney, Ben Crump, argues that footage shows the fatal shot came from the side and that the officer was not in imminent danger.
Read the original coverage
- The GuardianMBFC: Left-Center
Officer who shot and killed Black toddler in Mississippi resigns from police force
Read at The Guardian ↗ - New York PostAllSides: Right (News)MBFC: Right-Center
Police officer who shot and killed 1-year-old boy in Mississippi has resigned, mayor says
Read at New York Post ↗ - CNNAllSides: Lean Left (Digital)MBFC: Left-Center
Mississippi officer resigns after fatal shooting of 1-year-old in car outside Walmart | CNN
Read at CNN ↗ - NBC NewsMBFC: Left-Center
Mississippi police officer who fatally shot 1-year-old Kohen Wiley has resigned
Read at NBC News ↗ - ReasonMBFC: Right-Center
Mississippi Cop Who Shot 1-Year-Old Kohen Wiley Resigns After State Calls Shooting 'Justified'
Read at Reason ↗
Reported across the spectrum
- Sgt. Hunter Foster resigned from the Senatobia Police Department effective October 21, 2026.
- The shooting occurred on June 14, 2026, in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Mississippi.
- One-year-old Kohen Wiley was killed by the gunfire.
- Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch cleared Foster of criminal wrongdoing, deeming the shooting justified.
- The incident began with a shoplifting call involving diapers.
- Foster fired his weapon into a moving vehicle containing the toddler and two women.
Reported by only some outlets
- Foster's attorney claims the officer had 'no choice' but to fire because the car was moving at him.
- Ben Crump, the family attorney, states that an independent autopsy and video footage suggest the shot came from the side of the car.
- The Senatobia board of aldermen formally accepted the resignation.
- Kohen's mother has not been charged with a crime despite the shoplifting allegations.
- Body camera footage shows Foster later told another official he did not see a baby in the car.
Left-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
highlight the lack of charges against the mother, emphasize the racial identity of the victims and the history of alleged police harassment in the town, and focus on the 'outrage' and 'uproar' following the shooting.
Right-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
emphasize the legal conclusion that the shooting was 'justified' and present the officer's defense that the car was being used as a weapon.
Where coverage diverges
Coverage diverges along left/right lines — see Framing tab for specifics.
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