WILSON, N.C. — Family and community members said goodbye to 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant on Thursday in Wilson, North Carolina.
Cannon was shot and killed in his front yard on Sunday. Authorities charged the neighbor, 25-year-old Darrius Sessoms, with first-degree murder.
“We shouldn’t even be here,” Merrill Race, Cannon's great-grandfather, said.
Race told WNCN he was with Cannon just a few weekends ago. He said his great-grandson loved riding his bike and his two sisters.
Lee Parker is Cannon's stepfather.
“The words to explain… everything, he just loved everything. Everybody,” Parker said. “I could sit here for days, I just -- there are no words or no amount of money that’s going to bring him back."
The shooting happened on Archers Road around 5:30 p.m. Cannon's family said he was riding his bike when Sessoms approached and shot the child in the head. Sessoms took off but was arrested Monday in Goldsboro.
The boy's father said Sessoms was their neighbor for years and they'd shared a beer the night before. The family told WNCN there was no history of fights or bad feelings, and the shooting didn't make sense.
Police have not released a motive for the shooting.