5-year-old Cannon Hinnant from North Carolina died tragically after he was shot to death at point blank range while riding his bike around the neighborhood. The alleged killer is one of Cannon’s father’s neighbors, 25-year-old Darius Sessoms. At the time of the shooting, Cannon was together with his two sisters, aged 7 and 8, and his cousin, who witnessed the whole thing.
The reason behind this gruesome act is still unknown. Authorities arrested the killer and are trying to discover what made Sessoms kill an innocent boy. They, however, believe this wasn’t a random act, but there is a motive behind it.
Another witness, Doris Lybrand, said how she saw Sessoms approaching Cannon, and then placing the gun against his head and pulling the trigger. “My first reaction was he’s playing with the kids,” she said. “For a second, I thought, ‘That couldn’t happen.’ People don’t run across the street and kill kids.”
Lybrand rushed back into her house and called 911, but it was way too late for something to be done for the sweet boy.
Reports say how neighbors saw Cannon’s father, Austin, having dinner with the killer on Friday, one day before the shooting took place. Questioned about that, the father said how he invited Sessoms over after he saw him sitting all by himself in his car, looking like “he had a lot on his mind.” He further claimed he had no idea why the neighbor would kill his son. “There wasn’t anything between me and him, any bad blood whatsoever, for him to have a reason to do this,” Austin said, according to reports.
In the meantime, a family member named Christina Prezioso who set up a GoFundMe page wrote how the reason for the killing was that Cannon rode his bide in the killer’s yard.
“[A] sweet soul named Cannon Hinnant was taken from this world over a senseless act. A beautiful 5 year old baby boy riding his bicycle was shot by his neighbor point blank in Wilson NC.”
“One minute he is enjoying his life, the next it all ends because he rode into his neighbors yard. 5 years old guys!! Nothing prepares a parent for the loss of their child. No child should ever have their future stolen from them.”
Connan’s grieving mother, Bonny Waddell, said of her child that he had the biggest heart. “It’s devastating. No one should ever have to bury their child. No mother should have to go through this,” she told Wilson Times.
We pray for Cannon’s family to stay strong during these hard times and we hope justice would be served.