The parents of the 5-year-old boy who was shot dead by his neighbor while riding his bike have been calling for his killer to be sentenced to death.
Young Cannon Hinnant was shot dead by his neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Nathaniel Sessoms, while doing what he loved the most – riding his bike outside his home.
According to the reports, Sessoms walked up to the young boy and shot him in the back of his head with his gun.
As Cannon’s father, Austin, explained, he initially thought that his son had fallen off his bike and hit his head as he was playing outside with his sisters. After approaching the lifeless body, however, he discovered a gunshot wound to the head.
“I screamed, ‘Somebody, please help me save my son! Help me save my son, please!’ [You] can’t imagine what it’s like to hold your son in your arms with a gunshot wound to the head, and his blood is running down your arms,” Austin said in an interview with WRAL.point 416 | 1
After the chilling murder, Sessoms ran away and was later arrested by the police and charged with first-degree murder.
Speaking to KCTV 5 after their neighbor’s arrest, the 5-year-old’s family called for the child killer to be sentenced to death.
“My baby didn’t deserve this,” Bonny Waddell, Cannon’s mom, told the outlet as she was fighting back her tears. “He had the biggest smile, the biggest, eyes.”
“We lost a big piece of our family … He touched everybody that he knew,” she added.
The heartbroken mother also insisted that the family will seek the death penalty for the young boy’s killer. “I agree with Cannon’s mother that we are going to seek the death penalty,” Austin confirmed.
According to the reports, Sessoms was the family’s neighbor for eight years. Not only did they have a good relationship but the 25-year-old even came over for dinner and drinks on the night before he committed the murder.
“There wasn’t anything between me and him, any bad blood whatsoever, for him to have a reason to do this,” Austin previously explained.
Following the shooting, Sessoms has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He has been denied bond.
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