A funeral for 5-year-old Cannon Hinnant was held in North Carolina Thursday, and days later a GoFundMe set up for his family has raised more than $677,000.
The boy died when he was shot in the head Sunday night in a residential area in Wilson, North Carolina.
“They were just playing in the yard like any other day,” Cannon’s father, Austin Hinnant told WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday.
Cannon was playing with his 8- and 7-year-old sisters when the shooting occurred.
“The first thing that went through my mind was maybe he just fell off his bike,” Hinnant said. “The closer I got to him, the more I realized it was something far more serious.”
Cannon’s mother said his siblings saw the shooting.
Cannon was taken to Wilson Medical Center and died, police said.
WRAL reported Darius N. Sessoms, 25, was arrested Monday and charged with first-degree murder and was being held without bond in the Wilson County jail.
Hinnant said he has lived next door to Sessoms and his parents for eight years, having him over for dinner and sitting on his porch.
“The Lord says to love our neighbor. I have plenty of food to go around. I just wanted to be nice,” Hinnant said.
No details about a possible motive for the shooting have been released.
“There wasn’t anything between me and him, any bad blood whatsoever, for him to have a reason to do this,” Hinnant said.
On Tuesday, Gwen Hinnant, who identified herself as Cameron’s grandmother, set up a GoFundMe page “to assist with anything that may be needed for expenses related to his services,” according to the page.
Four days later, the fundraiser has more than surpassed its $5,000 goal. More than 13,500 people have raised more than $677,000.
Family and friends gathered for the boy’s funeral on Thursday. A vigil for Cannon was originally scheduled for Friday, but it has been postponed. There is no word on a new date.
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