The blaze struck Senatobia police headquarters months after the department faced intense scrutiny over the fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley.
SENATOBIA, Miss. — Federal and local investigators are examining a fire that damaged the Senatobia Police Department early Saturday, months after the small Mississippi department became the focus of protests and public anger following an officer’s fatal shooting of 1-year-old Kohen Wiley.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local agencies in investigating the Oct. 31 fire at police headquarters. Authorities described the blaze as an arson investigation, but officials had not publicly established what caused the fire or identified anyone responsible. The Senatobia Fire Department said firefighters responded before dawn after receiving a report of smoke inside the building and quickly brought the flames under control.
Local reporting placed the initial dispatch shortly before 5 a.m. Saturday. The fire department said crews knocked down the fire and ventilated the building. Officials had not released a detailed estimate of the damage, and authorities had not announced whether anyone was injured. The investigation remained active as federal agents examined the scene.
The fire comes during a period of turmoil for the Senatobia Police Department, which has faced months of scrutiny over the June 14 shooting death of Kohen Wiley. Police were at a Walmart investigating a reported shoplifting incident when officers approached a vehicle containing Wiley, his mother and another woman. State investigators said the driver moved the vehicle toward officers and nearly struck one of them before an officer fired into the vehicle.
Wiley was struck and later died. His mother was not injured, while another woman in the vehicle was seriously wounded. The women denied stealing merchandise, and authorities have not filed shoplifting charges against them. Wiley’s death prompted protests, demands for greater transparency and repeated calls from his family and community activists for the release of police video from the encounter.
The Mississippi Attorney General’s Office announced in October that its review found the officer’s use of force justified and that the officer would not face criminal charges. The determination drew criticism from Wiley’s family and its attorneys, who continued to question the shooting and urged federal authorities to conduct a separate investigation. State officials later released body-camera footage and other video showing portions of the encounter.
Officer Hunter Foster, who fired the shots that killed Wiley, resigned from the department in October after the footage became public. His resignation followed other leadership changes inside the department. Former Police Chief Harold “Hal” Vanderford was fired in September after news organizations reported allegations that he had used racist slurs in private text messages. Interim Chief Angelica Maze later resigned from the chief’s position, though local officials said she remained with the department.
The series of developments has kept the department at the center of public debate in Senatobia, a city of roughly 8,000 people about 40 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. Community members have repeatedly attended public meetings and demonstrations since Wiley’s death, while his family has continued to seek additional review of the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Authorities had not announced evidence linking Saturday’s fire to the Wiley case or to the protests and controversies surrounding the police department. Investigators had also not released information about a possible motive or suspect. Any connection between the fire and earlier events involving the department would therefore be speculative unless investigators establish one.
The ATF and local authorities were continuing to investigate the damaged police headquarters as of Saturday. Officials had not released a full damage assessment or said when the building would return to normal operations, leaving the cause of the fire and the circumstances surrounding it among the key unanswered questions.
Author note: Last updated October 31, 2026.