Man Shoots 5-Year-Old Neighbor in the Head; Motive Still Unknown

25-year-old Darius Sessoms from North Carolina has been charged with shooting a 5-year-old boy in the head. He was taken into custody on Monday – charged with first-degree murder in the death of Cannon Hinnant.

According to reports, Sessoms and Cannon’s father were next-door neighbors. WRAL reported that Cannon was playing outside his father's house when he was shot in the head in front of his two sisters, ages 7 and 8. Cannon was taken to Wilson Medical Center, where he died. A possible motive has not been released.

Motive Remain Unknown

Doris Lybrand, a witness to the shooting, said Sessoms ran up to the child. Then, he put the gun near his head, and fired. He then ran 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,” she then added.

Lybrand said she realized the gun was real when she saw the reaction of the child’s father, Austin Hinnant. She then tried to call 911.

“You don't expect to see somebody shoot someone,” she also said.

Cannon’s first day of kindergarten was supposed to be on Monday.

The family has known Sessoms for years.

“We used to play together and I never thought he’d kill someone,” said Rachel Pipkin, a cousin of Cannon’s mother. “A mother now has to lay her son to rest at 5 years old which she should never have to do. He’ll never be forgotten,” she then stated.

Sessoms is being held in the Wilson County Jail without bond.

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