The shooting of a 1-year-old outside a Mississippi Walmart has taken a troubling new turn, as attorneys for the child’s family revealed autopsy findings they say cast serious doubt on whether the officer’s use of force was justified. At a news conference on Wednesday, the family’s legal team argued that the bullet which killed young Kohen Wiley entered from the side of the vehicle, a detail that could reshape how the entire incident is understood.

What the Independent Autopsy Found

Prominent civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Van Turner, who represent the family, presented preliminary results from an independent autopsy the family had requested. Speaking in Senatobia, a small community roughly 40 miles south of Memphis, they laid out findings that they believe contradict the official narrative.

According to Crump, forensic pathologist Dr. Roger Mitchell, based in Washington, D.C., concluded that the toddler died from a gunshot wound to the torso. But it was the path of that bullet, not just the cause of death, that drew the most attention.

Crump explained that the report documented specific injury patterns on the child’s body caused by debris traveling in the bullet’s path. He displayed a photograph showing several abrasions along Kohen’s right side. Those marks, he said, were consistent with pseudo-stippling produced by tempered glass, the kind used in a vehicle’s side windows.

The distinction matters enormously. Crump argued that:

• The abrasions matched debris from tempered glass, which shatters the way a side window does.
• They did not match the laminated glass used in a windshield, which behaves very differently when struck.
• This pointed to a shot fired through the passenger-side window rather than head-on through the front of the car.

A photo shown during the news conference appeared to support that account, depicting a vehicle with a shattered passenger window alongside what looked like a bullet hole in the windshield on the passenger side.

A Pointed Question About the Angle

For Crump, the physical evidence led to one blunt conclusion. He argued that the officer fired from the side of the vehicle, a position from which, he insisted, no one could reasonably claim to be in danger.

“Why would you shoot into a vehicle from the side where you’re clearly not in harm’s way?” he asked, framing the trajectory as fundamentally incompatible with a claim of self-defense.

An Emotional Setting

The gravity of the moment was impossible to miss. The findings were shared at the West Gilmore St. Church of Christ, the same place where Kohen’s visitation had been held just days before. As Crump walked reporters through the pathologist’s report, the child’s paternal grandparents stood nearby holding signs bearing his photograph and the words “Justice for Baby Kohen.” They grew visibly emotional, wiping away tears as the details were recounted.

What Authorities Have Said So Far

Two weeks after the June 14 shooting, official information remains sparse. State authorities have said police were responding to a shoplifting call at the Walmart when an officer opened fire on the car Kohen was in.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation described a scene in which arriving officers saw two adults and a juvenile fleeing the store and getting into a vehicle. Kohen’s mother was a passenger, riding in a car driven by her friend. According to authorities, the officer fired only after the driver steered toward police, and the driver was also wounded in the exchange.

That version of events, however, is contested. Kohen’s mother has disputed the claim that the car was driven toward officers, setting up a direct clash between the family’s account and the official one.

When NBC News asked whether investigators had independently reached the same conclusion about the bullet’s angle, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation cited the ongoing investigation and declined to answer.

A Fight for Transparency

Much of Crump’s message centered on a demand for openness. He called on both state authorities and Walmart to release any footage capturing the police response, arguing that the public has been asked to accept a dramatic account without any evidence to back it up.

He suggested officials wanted people to believe the situation was a life-or-death emergency. “They told us that, but they have not shown us that,” he said, adding pointedly that the family does not need the events narrated for them when video could speak for itself.

The Bureau of Investigation has maintained that it will not release any footage until its inquiry concludes. A lieutenant at the Senatobia Police Department deferred all questions to state authorities. Notably, neither local nor state officials have identified the officer who fired, though the department has previously confirmed that individual was placed on leave.

Growing Frustration in the Community

The slow pace of the review has begun to wear on residents. Some in Senatobia have voiced frustration over both the limited information and the quiet posture of city leaders.

Patrick Lumumba, who had raised concerns about the local police force even before the shooting, said a group called the Senatobia Committee for Accountability and Transparency was seeking a spot on the agenda at the next city council meeting. His words captured the mood of a community unwilling to let the matter fade.

“There’s righteous indignation because we’re not going to lose this one,” he said.

What Comes Next

As the investigation continues, the gap between the family’s evidence and the official silence has only widened. The independent autopsy has given Kohen’s loved ones a concrete argument to press, while unanswered questions about the shot’s trajectory, the missing footage, and the unnamed officer keep the case firmly unresolved.

For a grieving family and a restless community, the path forward now hinges on a single, persistent demand: that the full truth of what happened outside that Walmart finally be brought into the light.

This is a sensitive topic involving the death of a child. If this story affects you personally, reaching out to a counselor or someone you trust can help.