The heartbroken mother of Cannon Hinnant has spoken out about his senseless murder.
Bonny Waddell took to Facebook to express her grief and fury at the killing of her five-year-old son, who was shot dead at point blank range as he played with his sisters near his North Carolina home on Sunday.
A 25-year-old neighbor, Darius Sessoms, has been charged with the murder.
Early reports claimed the boy had been killed for riding into the neighbor’s yard; a GoFundMe set up to support the family claimed as much.
However Cannon’s mother said this was not the motive.
“This was not just because my baby was riding a bike!” she wrote in a furious post. “Dont let this social media and news fool you!”
“This is under investigation, I lost my child, I lost my innocent child, and no one can give me him back,” she added. “I will burn this country down if it’s what it’ll take to see this man burn in hell. I’m ready to flip this county upside down.”
Calling for his arrest, she said her other children had also been threatened.
“Please ride the roads, keep your eyes out. My other kids are in danger as threats were made, this scum bag is not far,” she wrote.
“This man will answer to me, that man will see me and my son through my face! This sorry excuse as a human being will rot in hell.”
Neighbor Doris Lybrand told WRAL she watched the whole thing happen from her window; she claimed Sessoms ran up to Cannon, put the gun near his head and fired before running back to his house.
“My first reaction was he’s playing with the kids,” she said. “For a second, I thought, ‘That couldn’t happen.’ People don’t run across the street and kill kids.”
She only realized it was really happening when she saw Cannon’s father’s reaction; she then locked herself inside and called 911.
The motive for the killing has yet to be established; neighbors claimed Sessoms had dinner with Cannon’s dad on Friday, and had visited the house earlier on Sunday.
The suspect was charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond; he is due in court on August 25.
Cannon’s funeral takes place on Friday; his mother asked attendees to wear Crocs, the boy’s favorite footwear.
