Relatives say they want answers after a one-year-old boy was killed.
SENATOBIA, Miss. — State agents are investigating after a child died and another person was critically wounded in an officer-involved shooting Sunday outside a Walmart in Senatobia.
The shooting followed a reported shoplifting call at the store on U.S. Highway 51. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said Senatobia police officers and Tate County sheriff’s deputies were involved in the response. The bureau said its findings will be turned over to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office after agents finish gathering evidence.
Investigators said officers encountered two adults and a child leaving the store in a vehicle. Officers attempted to stop them in the parking lot. According to the bureau, the driver moved the vehicle toward officers and nearly struck one of them. Officers then fired their weapons as the vehicle left the area.
The vehicle’s occupants later reached a nearby hospital. The child was pronounced dead, and another person was in critical condition. Authorities said no officers were hurt. Officials had not said Monday how many officers fired, how many shots were fired or whether store security video had been recovered.
Relatives identified the child as a one-year-old boy and said the injured person was a woman. Family members outside the hospital said they were not getting enough information from officials. Carolyn Stokes, identified as the child’s great-grandmother, said the family knew only that the vehicle had been shot and the child had died.
Licole Wiley, identified as the child’s grandmother and the injured woman’s sister, questioned the use of force. “It still didn’t need for you to shoot two adults and a baby,” Wiley said. Other relatives said they wanted the officer or officers involved to be held accountable if investigators find wrongdoing.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said the case remains preliminary and subject to change. Senatobia police said they are also gathering information. No charges had been announced Monday, and officials had not released a date for the next update.
Author note: Last updated June 15, 2026.