Shooting of Cannon Hinnant

Cannon Blake Hinnant was a five-year-old American boy from Wilson, North Carolina who was shot and killed on August 9, 2020, while playing in his neighbor's yard. Hinnant's neighbor, Darius Sessoms, was arrested for the shooting within 24 hours.

Cannon Hinnant
Born
Cannon Blake Hinnant

(2015-04-30)April 30, 2015
North Carolina, U.S.
DiedAugust 9, 2020(2020-08-09) (aged 5)[1]
Wilson, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of deathGunshot wound
Parent(s)Austin Hinnant
Bonny Waddell[2]
RelativesTwo brothers and two sisters[3]

Some conservative media outlets claimed that his death was intentionally under-reported due to his race, as Hinnant was white, while Sessoms is black. According to Snopes, the incident was widely reported, and there was no evidence of a cover-up.[4] Hinnant's family has said the child's death was not race related.[5]

Shooting and arrest

At 5:30 pm on August 9, 2020, Hinnant cycled onto his next-door neighbor's property, and the neighbor, Darius Sessoms, a 25-year-old man, allegedly shot the boy at point-blank range.[6][4][7] At the time, Hinnant was playing outside with his two older sisters. After police officers and EMS personnel arrived at the location of the shooting, Hinnant was taken to Wilson Medical Center where he died from his injuries.[4][8] The motive for the shooting is unknown.[6][5] Sessoms was arrested within 24 hours and subsequently charged with first-degree murder.[9][10]

On September 22, Sessom's girlfriend was also arrested in connection with the case. She was charged with felony accessory after the fact.[11][12]

Political response

There were claims circulated by politically conservative social media users and by conservative news outlets that mainstream news outlets other than Fox News were not reporting about the story because they did not want to report about a black man killing a white child. However, according to Snopes, the incident had been covered by local and national media, and there was no evidence of a cover-up.[4][13]

Conservative social media users also appropriated phrases from the anti-racist policing movement in support of Hinnant.[4] Hinnant's mother posted to Facebook stating that Hinnant's death had nothing to do with race. She also specifically requested that people stop comparing her son's death to the murder of George Floyd.[5]

Memorials

Hinnant's funeral was held on August 13, 2020.[14]

A GoFundMe page was created by Hinnant's grandmother with a goal of raising $5,000 for the family.[15] As of August 19, 2020, it had raised over $815,000.[16]

On August 14, 2020, Skeeter Tulloch of Lee County painted "Cannon's Life Matters" on an unidentified street as a memorial to Hinnant.[16]

On August 23, hundreds of people gathered in Kenly, North Carolina to honor Hinnant. Some at the event wore shirts reading "I Can't Ride / All Lives Matter". An all-day softball event was also held the previous day as a fund-raiser.[17]

References
  1. "Cannon Blake Hinnant Obituary – Visitation & Funeral Information". www.tributearchive.com. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
  2. "Cannon Blake Hinnant". Johnstonian News. August 10, 2020. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020.
  3. "Cannon Blake Hinnant". Johnstonian News. August 10, 2020. Archived from the original on November 27, 2020.
  4. Lee, Jessica (August 14, 2020). "Was a Black Man Charged in the Killing of a White 5-Year-Old in North Carolina?". Snopes.
  5. Hernandez, Salvador (August 15, 2020). "Police Have Not Released A Motive For The Killing Of A 5-Year-Old Who Was Shot While Riding A Bike". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. Shammas, Brittany (August 15, 2020). "What we know about the killing of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". Washington Post.
  7. Harmata, Claudia (August 16, 2020). "Mother of Murdered 5-Year-Old N.C. Boy Speaks Out: 'My Baby Didn't Deserve This'". People. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  8. Razek, Raja (August 14, 2020). "A 25-year-old man has been charged in the shooting death of 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". CNN.
  9. Culver, Jordan (August 13, 2020). "Police: North Carolina man faces murder charge in shooting death of 5-year-old boy". USA Today.
  10. Graziosi, Graig (August 13, 2020). "Cannon Hinnant: Boy, 5, shot dead by neighbour while cycling in his yard". The Independent.
  11. "21-year-old woman charged in connection with shooting death of Wilson 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant". ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. September 22, 2020.
  12. Harris, Chris (September 25, 2020). "Girlfriend of Man Who Allegedly Shot, Killed 5-Year-Old N.C. Boy on Bike Is Also Charged". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  13. Voytko, Lisette (August 17, 2020). "How The Murder Of 5-Year-Old Cannon Hinnant Became A Conservative Controversy About Race". Forbes. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
  14. "'He meant the world to me': Family, friends gather to honor the life of Cannon Hinnant, the 5-year-old boy who was shot and killed while riding bike in Wilson". WTVD ABC 11. August 14, 2020.
  15. "More than $766K raised for 5-year-old boy fatally shot at point-blank range in N.C." WITV/WBTV. August 15, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  16. "'Cannon's Life Matters': N.C. man's mural honors 5-year-old who was fatally shot". www.wdbj7.com. August 21, 2020.
  17. Diane Wilson (August 23, 2020). "Cannon Hinnant: Hundreds of bikers gather in Kenly to remember the life of 5-year-old Wilson boy". WTVD.
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