WILSON, N.C. — A mother continues to grieve for her 5-year-old son who was shot to death last weekend in Wilson, North Carolina.
Police said a neighbor, 25-year-old Darius Sessoms, walked up to Cannon Hinnant while he was playing outside with his siblings and shot him in the head.
“My baby didn’t deserve this,” Cannon’s mother, Bonny Waddell, said. “He had the biggest smile, the biggest eyes.”
[‘I screamed’: Father of slain 5-year-old can’t fathom why son was killed]
Cannon had an infectious smile and personality and loved to go go-karting and ride his bike. Waddell said she lost a piece of her heart last Sunday.
“We lost a big piece of our family,” she said. “We all. He changed all of our lives. He touched everybody that he knew.”
It’s a day too hard to recount. Not only for her but for Cannon’s two sisters and 7-year-old aunt who watched him die.
“This man took my girls when he took my baby,” Waddell said. “They know he’s in a better place.”
While Sessoms is in jail facing charges for killing Cannon, family and friends said there’s still justice they want to see.
“I want the death penalty and I’m gonna seek it,” Bonny said.
Cannon’s father agrees with his mother. With a GoFundMe that has topped $700,000, the family plans to remember Cannon the best way they know how.
“We’ve discussed a memorial park for Cannon where kids can go and ride their bikes because he loved that so much,” Cannon’s grandmother said.
Sessoms is charged with first-degree murder.
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Wilson police warn of Facebook account impersonating department, posting false details about Cannon’s death
The Wilson Police Department warned on Facebook about a post circulating with false details about Cannon’s death.
Officials said the account is impersonating the Wilson Police Department’s name and posting press-release style false information.
The department has asked people not to share the post and to report it to Facebook.
“Before you share a post you can check our page to see if that post is shown. If it’s not here, it’s not from us,” the department wrote on Facebook.