Cannon Hinnat's alleged killer Darius Sessoms had dinner and beer with boy's father night before brutal murder
The father of five-year-old Cannon Hinnant, who was shot dead in his own yard on August 9, had dinner and shared beers with his son’s alleged murderer before the tragic incident. Cannon was allegedly killed by Darius Sessoms in front of his two sisters, aged seven and eight. The 25-year-old Darius allegedly ran towards the child with a gun in his hand before putting it to his head and firing. He was arrested almost after 24 hours of the tragedy and is in jail without a bond facing a first-degree murder charge. But the victim’s family is still not over the shock and grief for losing their young son.
Austin Hinnant, the father of Cannon, told ABC News: “We've been neighbors for eight years. We had just been cordial neighbors, like anybody else. We would speak when we saw one another and he may walk over and talk to me for a few moments and vice-versa." According to reports, the day before the tragedy, Austin actually had invited Sessoms for dinner and they sat on the porch together, enjoying beers. However, Hinnant added that the accused “looked like he had a lot on his mind and I was cooking chicken on the grill so I invited him into my home... We're supporters of God and I just told him that, 'God tells us to love our neighbors’.”
Recalling the fateful day, Austin said when he heard the gunshots, he ran outside to find Cannon lying on the ground. “The first thing I see is my son laying on the ground and it crossed my mind that maybe he just fell off his bike. As I got closer to him and I scooped him up in my arms I realized... how horrific it was... I had to scoop my son up and hold him in my arms as blood ran down my arm and all I could do was pray to God,” the father stated. He also added that since the boy’s sisters witnessed the killing “it’s been very tough for my two daughters”.
Meanwhile, Cannon’s mother Bonny Waddell said that she wants death penalty for the accused. “My baby didn't deserve this. He had the biggest smile, the biggest eyes. We lost a big piece of our family. We all. He changed all of our lives. He touched everybody he knew,” Waddell said, adding: “This man took my girls when he took my baby. They know he’s in a better place. I want death penalty and I’m gonna seek it.”
The mother also took to Facebook to share that her son’s killer “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. I will burn this country down if that's what it'll take to see [the alleged shooter] burn in hell. I'm ready to flip this country upside down." In addition, Waddell also asked people on social media to pray for her daughters and wrote, "They just lost a puzzle piece, their best friend, a piece of their heart."