Wilson man indicted by grand jury after fatal shooting of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant
More than a year after 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was shot and killed while playing outside his father's house, a neighbor has been indicted.
Darius Sessoms, 25, was arrested within days of the August 2020 shooting. He’s been in jail awaiting trial since that time.
A grand jury formally indicted Sessoms on Dec. 22. He is due to appear in court on Jan. 26, according to court records in Wilson County.
Family members said Cannon was riding his bike outside his father's house on Archers Road when he was shot in the head. The boy's two sisters, ages 8 and 7, saw their brother get shot, according to Cannon's mother.
Cannon was taken to Wilson Medical Center, where he died.
Sessoms, who lived next door to Cannon's father, was charged with first-degree murder. A neighbor said that the two men had dinner together the night before the shooting and that Sessoms was at his neighbor's home earlier that day.
Doris Lybrand, who witnessed the shooting, said she saw Sessoms run up to Cannon and put the gun near his head before running 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."
Cannon's father, Austin Hinnant, said there was no "bad blood" between him and his neighbor, and it is still unclear why Sessoms shot the boy.
Cannon's mother, Bonny Waddell, said her son had an infectious personality and loved go-carting and his bike.
