A five-year-old boy in North Carolina has been shot dead at point-blank range while riding his bike in his father’s front yard.

Cannon Hinnant was playing in this yeard with his sisters around 5:30pm on Sunday when he was approached by his neighbour, Darius Sessoms.

The 25-year-old then pulled a gun and shot the young boy in the head at point-blank range before fleeing the scene.

The boy’s sisters, seven and eight, were present at the time and witnessed their brother’s murder.

Within 24-hours Sessoms was arrested and taken into custody by Wilson Police.

According to reports, Sessoms lived next door to the family, and the killing is not believed to be random. Neighbour’s claimed he had dinner with the boy’s father two nights before and had been at the house again earlier on Sunday.

A neighbour who witnessed the killing described the incident as unprovoked and extremely fast. She told WRAL that Sessoms ran up to Cannon, who was in the driveway, and put a gun to his head before firing a single shot and then running back to his neighbouring house.

The witness said she first thought Sessoms was playing with the kids, but when she saw Cannon’s father’s reaction she immediately ran inside her home and called 911.

“For a second, I though, that couldn’t happen,” she said. “People don’t run across the street and kill kids.”

Sessoms has been charged with first-degree murder and is being held without bond in the Wilson County Jail.