Family members, friends, and even strangers gathered on Thursday night to present respect to the 5-year-old innocent boy, Cannon Hinnat who was shot in the head and killed by a neighbor in Wilson when he was riding a bike.
The gruesome incident happened in North Carolina, last weekend.
More than a hundred cars filled up the place at the time of the funeral. Everyone, from all walks of life, showed up to share the grief of the boy’s family in the time of sorrow.
CANNON’S FAMILY EXPRESS THEIR GRIEF AND SORROW
Lee Parker, who is Cannon’s stepfather and raised him with his wife, expressed his sorrow and said;
“He meant everything to me, like all the children that I’ve brought up, he was special to me. We will not forget that he will always be with us. We will pass this hard time. Everyone is sending prayers, from Australia to Colorado; this is unstoppable. It’s from all around the world.”
Bonny Waddell, Cannon’s mother, has said that he was just a gentle polite kid.
“He had a generous heart and was a polite kid. It’s beyond devastating for us. No one should have to bury their kid ever. No mother should have to endure such loss.”
Merrill Race, Little boy’s grandfather, also a member of Local Guardians of the Children share his disbelief, sorrow, and anguish and goes on to say;
“We should not be present here, Cannon was the kid that was always respectful and kind, he was kind of easy going. But he was a delightful beautiful little boy.”
He said that he could not believe till now that how anyone can do this to a child. According to his family, he was about to start kindergarten this very week.
Cannon’s death has captured everyone’s attention and messages for the little boy’s family are pouring in to share their grief. People are using various hash tags with Cannon’s name on Social media platforms, words of uplifting, and even charity donations. They are sending prayers for the family too.
A GoFundMe page has already been in place for the Cannon’s family. The page says that;
“A beautiful 5-year-old boy who was riding a bicycle has been shot by his neighbor point black in Wilson, North Carolina. At one moment, he was enjoying his life, and the next he was no more just because his cycle entered into the neighbor’s yard.”
Till Friday morning, almost $300000 had been donated by the people.
Cannon’s family said their family is missing an affectionate and deviant young boy who will always be in our hearts and we can’t even imagine replacing him ever. They are more devastated to know that the killer was living next door to them, just aside their house.
Daryl High, Cannon’s youth pastor, also expresses his sorrow and said;
“His smile is beautiful, His personality is best. You could not want to be changed when you met Cannon. If a word does not to be said, you can’t help and change yourselves then.”
Neighbors were anguished too on the boy’s death.
The family wants to hold a Vigil for Cannon in a near future, but no specific date and details are announced yet. Friday’s vigil was postponed because the family needed more time to mourn and overcome the loss of their beautiful kid.
DARIUS SESSOMS; THE POTENTIAL MURDERER, GOT ARRESTED BY THE WILSON POLICE
A North Carolina man has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a 5-year-old boy in front of his sisters.
Darius N. Sessoms, 25-year-old, was arrested on Monday after he fled the crime scene and now is in the custody of Wilson Police. Sessoms was found inside a house in Goldsboro, which is at a distance of 30 minutes south of Wilson.
Cannon was shot directly in the head when he was playing outside the home. He was taken to Wilson Medical center but sadly the boy didn’t make it through.
According to Cannon’s mother, his sisters also witnessed this horrific act.
WILSON POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL STATEMENT
According to Wilson Police, their officers responded instantly on Sunday evening to a report of shooting at a home park and found that Cannon Hinnat was shot in the head at point black. Captain Steve Stroud said officers and other responders provide the first aid to the boy before he was taken to the Wilson Medical Center. Police were made aware of the incident at 5:30 pm.
The Wilson Police Department released the news statement;
“The Wilson Police Department offers their deep condolences and prayers to the Cannon’s family in this harsh time. We would also thank the US Marshals’ Carolinas Violent Fugitive Task Force, Goldsboro Police Department, and Wayne County Sheriff’s Department for their support and assistance in the arrest of Sessoms.”
Wilson County District Court Judge John Britt said to the Sessoms while he was holding a virtual hearing on Tuesday that he has a right to represent and hire a lawyer or he can ask for a court-appointed lawyer. Sessoms is in the custody of the Wilson Police Department and without a bond; said he would try to hire a lawyer.
Darius Sessoms was previously charged with a felony of firearms in Wilson County, back in March 2016. The unlawful act for having drugs in Wake County in April 2016 and also charged with the possession of marijuana in Nash County in November 2016.
NEIGHBOURS EXPRESS THEIR SADNESS IN A STATE OF SHOCK
Doris Lybrand, who was the witness of the shooting incident, said that Sessoms ran towards the boy and placed the gun on his head and fired and then ran towards his home. She further said;
“I was thinking first that he might be playing with the kids. For a minute; it was in my mind that it could not happen. People do not run on the streets and go on killing innocent children. You do not expect to see someone being shot.”
She said she got to know that the gun was actually real after watching Cannon’s father’s reaction. She went inside the house and locked herself and called 911.
Charlene Walburn, another neighbor described her relation with Cannon and said;
“He used to come to our house and he and my husband would start talking and he always said to my husband to put air in the tire. If he saw me with a popsicle on the porch, he would come over and ask me if I could have a popsicle. On that day, we were having dinner and heard a voice. We know it is a gunshot, and I ran towards the door and asked my husband to call 911. How can you walk up to the little boy and just shoot him? How can anyone think of doing that?”
Frank Harvey, who has been in Cannon’s neighborhood for 15 years; expressed his sadness and said;
“It’s a quiet and calm place. You most usually hear cars’ voices or anything like that, but no one was expecting it to happen, nothing like this. It’s so sad and hurtful, and the murderer should be held accountable.”
No details about the motive behind the shooting have been known yet, but according to the Police the incident was not random and an investigation has been started.
