A 1-year-old boy is dead and another person wounded after a Mississippi police officer shot at a vehicle while responding to a shoplifting call, according to authorities and the child’s grandfather.

The child’s mother, her friend and 1-year-old Kohen Wiley were in the vehicle during the shooting on Sunday, Marquell Bridges, a community advocate who is helping the family find legal representation, said. Wiley’s mother was physically unharmed, but her friend was seriously injured, said Bridges, the president and founder of an advocacy group called the Building Bridges Coalition.

The three had gotten into the vehicle after exiting a Walmart in Senatobia, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation. As police tried to stop the vehicle, the driver drove toward them and almost hit an officer, according to the bureau, which is investigating the shooting. An officer then shot at the vehicle, which drove away.

The two women drove to a hospital, where Kohen was pronounced dead.

Carlos Haynes described his grandson as a happy baby and said he was looking forward to watching him grow.

“Someone ended it all before it could even start,” Haynes said.

The Senatobia Police Department, which responded to the call, did not immediately respond to The Associated Press’ inquiries.

“As the investigation progresses and facts are verified, we will share as much information as possible,” the department wrote in a Facebook post.

The Tate County Sheriff’s Office, which was also present during the shooting, declined to comment.

Walmart said it is working with law enforcement during the investigation.

“We’re saddened by what took place at our Senatobia, MS, store,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement.

Senatobia is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Memphis, Tennessee.

A Mississippi family is demanding answers after a 1-year-old was killed when police responding to a shoplifting call at a Walmart fired at their vehicle.

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The shooting occurred Sunday afternoon in a parking lot in Senatobia, about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Marquell Bridges, a community advocate who is helping the family find an attorney, told The Associated Press that 1-year-old Kohen Wiley was killed and a friend of the boy’s mother was seriously injured.

The mother was not injured, Bridges said.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the shooting, said in a statement that when Senatobia police officers arrived, they “encountered two subjects and a juvenile child fleeing from the store into a vehicle.”

The state agency said police tried to stop the vehicle, “but the driver drove in the direction of the officers, almost striking one.” An officer then discharged their weapon, firing at the vehicle, according to the MBI.

The driver then drove to a nearby hospital, where the child was pronounced dead, the bureau said.

No law enforcement officers were seriously injured, the state agency said in its statement.

The Senatobia Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. In a Facebook post on Sunday, the department said it was “committed to full transparency.”

“As the investigation progresses and facts are verified, we will share as much information as possible,” the department said.

The Tate County Sheriff’s Office was also on scene for the shooting. The office said in a news release that deputies had been responding to an unrelated incident when their assistance was requested.

“Please keep the family of the deceased in your thoughts and prayers,” the sheriff’s office said.

In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Bridges said the boy’s mother did not steal from Walmart “and was not a witness to or accomplice to any crime.”

“She was skipping and playing with her child kohen to the car moments earlier not fleeing a theft,” he said. “What started as an ordinary day, playing with your baby and getting into a car, turned into the worst day of a mother’s life and a tragedy this community will carry for years to come.”

He called on the police department to release body camera footage and store surveillance video.

Carlos Haynes, the child’s grandfather, told the AP that Kohen was a happy baby who had his life cut short.

“Someone ended it all before it could even start,” Haynes said.

The child’s family did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment on Tuesday.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation said that it will turn its findings over to the Attorney General’s Office once the investigation is complete.

In a statement Tuesday, the city of Senatobia said it was committed to cooperating fully with the MBI’s independent investigation.

“We understand that emotions are high and that many questions remain. We respectfully ask our community to avoid speculation and the spread of unverified information while the investigation is underway,” the statement said.

It acknowledged the child’s death as a “a heartbreaking tragedy,” and extended condolences to the family. The city also asked for thoughts and prayers for law enforcement officers, first responders and anyone affected by this situation.

“We ask our community to continue responding with compassion, respect, and grace as we support all those affected during this difficult time,” the statement said.

A 1-year-old boy was fatally shot by a Mississippi cop who fired at a car the tot’s mother and aunt were fleeing in through a Walmart parking lot after allegedly stealing diapers.

Kohen Wiley, 1, was killed and another woman in their car was critically injured when a cop opened fire at their vehicle in a Walmart parking lot in Senatobia, Mississippi.

Kohen’s family told WREG that his mother was holding him in the front passenger seat while his aunt drove. It’s not clear if Kohen’s mother or aunt was the woman critically injured.

Officers from the Senatobia Police Department and the Tate County Sheriff’s Department were responding to a reported shoplifting at the Walmart when they spotted the suspects’ car driving away, according to a statement from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety obtained by Mississippi Today.

The DPS claimed that the driver sped in the officers’ direction and almost hit one cop while they were trying to stop the car. It was at that moment that an officer fired at the car, according to the statement.

Video footage obtained by WREG showed at least one bullet hole in the front windshield of the car. The passenger-side window was also severely damaged.

The family drove themselves to a nearby hospital, where little Kohen died.

The tot’s surviving family is demanding answers for how a shoplifting response could turn so violent. They also disputed speculations that Kohen’s mother and aunt were stealing diapers from the megastore.

“We don’t really know anything, why it happened or whatever. All we know is that car was shot up and a one-year-old baby was killed,” Carolyn Stokes, Kohen’s great-grandmother, told WREG.

“I’m just at a loss for words, to be honest. Somebody needs to held accountable for it,” Carlos Haynes, Kohen’s grandfather, added.

A woman who witnessed the shooting told the outlet that she heard gunshots echo across the parking lot as cops chased the car, but assumed officers hadn’t opened fire in broad daylight, since “this is Walmart.”

A separate witness told the outlet that he saw law enforcement waiting in the parking lot before Kohen’s mother and aunt exited the store, one holding a box of diapers while the other cradled the toddler.

The Senatobia Police Department turns its investigation over to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation.

Tate County Sheriff Luke Shepherd told Mississippi Today that the department is also doing an independent investigation to determine if any of the deputies involved in the shooting will be placed on leave.