An arson Saturday morning damaged the building of a beleaguered police department in Mississippi that has drawn outrage from the community in recent months after an officer shot and killed a 1-year-old, authorities said.
It was unclear what caused the fire at the headquarters of the Senatobia Police Department. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local agencies are investigating.
The Associated Press has reached out to the fire department, police department, and the Tate County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
Firefighters were dispatched to the city's police department at 4:58 a.m. to respond to smoke in the building, the Senatobia Fire Department said in a statement, and crews were able to quickly knock out the fire. There were no details on the damage.
The Senatobia Police Department ignited anger in the community of 8,000 after an officer fired into a vehicle and killed 1-year-old Kohen Wiley in June while investigating a shoplifting call at a Walmart.
Wiley, who is Black, was in the vehicle with his mother, who was unharmed, and her friend, who was seriously injured. The two women denied having stolen anything, and no charges have been filed against them.
In September, the police chief was fired after reporting by The New York Times, Mississippi Today and Verite News alleged that he used racist slurs in private text messages. Earlier this month, the officer involved in the shooting resigned, though he was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by the Mississippi Attorney General’s office after its probe concluded his use of force had been justified.
Senatobia is about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Memphis.
This photo provided by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New Orleans Field Division shows special agents from the ATF New Orleans Field Division investigate a fire at the Senatobia Police Department on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Senatobia, Miss. (ATF New Orleans Field Division via AP)
NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s opposition parties on Sunday renewed calls for the resignation of the country’s election chief, staging fresh protests in the latest display of public dissent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
The protest, called by opposition bloc INDIA, drew tens of thousands of demonstrators, some carrying musical instruments and waving various flags, as they chanted slogans against the policies of the central government. Several opposition parties of the alliance, formed in 2023 to unseat Modi, mobilized their cadres from different states for the protest, which comes weeks after a police crackdown on protesters in New Delhi.
Led by Rahul Gandhi, leader of the main opposition Congress party, and backed by the youth “Cockroach” movement, the protesters called for the safeguarding of India’s democracy while demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over a contentious voter roll revision.
The protesters gathered at Ramlila Maidan, a sprawling public square in New Delhi, after police last month withdrew Jantar Mantar from the list of officially designated venues for demonstrations. The historic observatory had long served as the capital’s main protest site.
Authorities deployed thousands of police and paramilitary soldiers and mounted extensive surveillance, with more than 200 CCTV cameras, drones and body-worn cameras at the venue and along the protest route, officials said.
The ongoing review of voter lists has removed more than 130 million names since last year. Critics say the exercise is politically motivated, threatens to disenfranchise millions more, and has disproportionately affected minorities, particularly Muslims.
The Election Commission and Modi’s administration deny the allegations and say the revision is intended to remove duplicate and ineligible entries.
Human Rights Watch on Thursday said the accusations over the voter roll revision raise “serious questions about the fairness of future Indian elections.”
“The authorities should immediately scrap the voter roll revision process that has denied India’s most marginalized people their right to vote and other government services,” said Elaine Pearson, the group’s Asia director, in a statement.
The call for Kumar’s resignation has for weeks been a rallying cry for opposition parties and supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party seeking to challenge Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP. Opposition parties, mainly the Congress, say the ruling BJP has undertaken systemic manipulation of the electoral process, accusing the party of “vote chori”, or vote theft.
Modi has not publicly commented on the protests. Some of his party leaders have dismissed the demonstrators as “anarchists” and suggested, without offering evidence, that they are backed by foreign powers.
In July, protests led by the youth “cockroach” movement forced the resignation of Modi’s education minister, a rare setback for Modi, who has been in power for more than 12 years. The movement began as an online satirical campaign this summer after India’s chief justice compared unemployed young people to parasites.
Suresh Sharma, a protester from northern Haryana state, said the country’s system needed reform as democracy was being throttled.
The process of voter roll revision needs to be scrapped, Sharma said, adding: “We demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign and be arrested.”
Protesters take a break during a rally called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
A poster showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is carried during a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, center, in a vehicle with other opposition leaders, greets supporters during a protest called by his party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Prabhat Mehrotra)
A banner displaying a portrait of India's election chief Gyanesh Kumar is visible during a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, India, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
India's opposition Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi, standing at right in the first vehicle with other opposition leaders, waves at the supporters during a protest called by his party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vipin)
People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Security personnel keep watch as a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Protesters in traditional costumes wait to start a march called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
People shout slogans at a protest called by the Congress party and its allies against the revision of electoral rolls begins in New Delhi, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
