A 5-year-old North Carolina boy was allegedly shot dead by his neighbor while riding his bicycle outside his home over the weekend.
Little Cannon Hinnant was playing outside his father’s house with his two sisters, ages 7 and 8, in the city of Wilson around 5:30 p.m. Sunday when he was allegedly shot in the head by 25-year-old Darius Sessoms, WRAL.com reported.
The boy was rushed to the hospital, but he could not be saved.
Sessoms, who lives next door to Cannon’s father on Archers Road, was later nabbed in Goldsboro and is facing first-degree murder charges.
Police say the killing was not random, though they did not offer a motive, according to the news outlet.
Witness Doris Lybrand told WRAL.com that Sessoms ran up to the little boy, put the gun near his head and pulled the trigger before dashing back to his own house.
“My first reaction was he’s playing with the kids,” Lybrand said. “For a second, I thought, ‘That couldn’t happen.’ People don’t run across the street and kill kids.”
After realizing the shooting was real and seeing Cannon’s father’s reaction, the woman said, she ran back inside her house, locked the door and quickly called 911.
Another neighbor said Sessoms and Cannon’s dad had dinner together Saturday night and that Sessoms was at the home earlier Sunday, according to WRAL.com.
A woman claiming to be a cousin of Cannon’s father, Austin Hinnant, created a GoFundMe page for the family and alleged in the bio that Cannon was shot “because he rode into his neighbors yard.”
“[A] sweet soul named Cannon Hinnant was taken from this world over a senseless act,” Christina Prezioso wrote on the GoFundMe page. “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,” the bio reads. “5 years old guys!! Nothing prepares a parent for the loss of their child. No child should ever have their future stolen from them.”
Sessoms has multiple felony drug charges from over the years, multiple felony probation violations, and charges on his record for possessing stolen firearms, CBS17.com reported.
You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!
Join 12160 Social Network