A Mississippi police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a shooting while responding to an alleged shoplifting complaint killed a one-year-old child – and prompted local protests.

Demonstrations erupted in Senatobia after the police killing on Sunday of Kohen Wiley. That included Tuesday evening, when protesters gathered outside Senatobia city hall while municipal officials held a meeting inside.

As tensions escalated, law enforcement officers wearing gas masks formed a line in front of the Walmart where protests also took place on Tuesday – and deployed an irritant colloquially referred to as teargas toward demonstrators, forcing people at the scene to disperse.

Police had on Sunday responded to a report alleging someone attempted to steal a box of diapers from the Senatobia Walmart. An officer fired a gun at a vehicle before it left the scene, according to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI).