On Sunday, June 14, police in Senatobia, Mississippi, fired into a vehicle occupied by a family accused of stealing diapers from a local Walmart. The shots struck and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley.

Cell phone footage shows police officers running toward the vehicle as it attempted to drive away. Kohen’s mother, Vellesiya Wiley, said, “I raised my baby up trying to show them that he was in the car.” The police fired anyway.

Let us be clear: under no circumstances should stealing — let alone allegedly stealing diapers — result in murder. Families across this country are struggling under the weight of an economic crisis that has left many unable to afford basic necessities. Rather than ensuring that families have what they need to raise healthy children, this system responds with criminalization and murder.

Black families face the compounded burdens of economic exploitation and systemic racism. Corporations like Walmart place the protection of property above human life. And Black mothers are too often subjected to racist stereotypes that portray them as irresponsible or undeserving of support.

This horrific incident is not the first time a Black child has been killed by police. We remember the lives of Tamir Rice, Tyre King, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and so many others whose lives were cut short by state violence.

We stand in solidarity with the Black community in Mississippi and with all those demanding answers, accountability, and justice for Kohen Wiley.

#JusticeForKohen