Background: The 3000 block of Heber Springs Road North in Cleburne County, Arkansas (Google Maps). Inset: Dustin Cannon (Cleburne County Sheriff”s Office).
A man is accused of killing his brother by unloading an entire clip’s worth of bullets into him, reasoning that his brother was threatening his family.
Dustin Cannon, 42, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Austin Cannon. The violence was discovered after Arkansas authorities responded to a home on Monday evening.
Cleburne County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the home on the 3000 block of Heber Springs Road North at about 7:10 p.m. They were met by a man revealed to be the suspect — and they saw another man. This one wasn’t moving.
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Austin Cannon was “deceased outside the home from apparent gunshot wounds,” the law enforcement agency said. The shooting victim had “multiple bullet wounds from his torso to his neck area,” according to court documents obtained by Jonesboro-based ABC and NBC affiliate KAIT. His age is unclear.
Detectives were called to investigate what had transpired, and Dustin Cannon was interviewed. He reportedly told authorities that he had killed his brother, saying “his brother had threatened to kill his wife and daughter.”
“Dustin stated that his brother, Austin Cannon, came at him and when he raised his fist to hit him, he [Dustin] just began shooting,” the affidavit added.
The suspect is also said to have told investigators that he fired his .40-caliber gun, which held 21 rounds. “He stated that he shot all the rounds in the gun,” the detective in the court document wrote.
Austin Cannon is believed to have been shot while he was “standing on the back porch.” Once he fell to the floor, “he was shot several more times,” authorities said.
A woman witnessed the shooting, and she was also interviewed, KAIT reported. She “stated that Dustin was mad at Austin for leaving his family and not working,” and she “stated that Dustin had mentioned to her about his mother being ready to take Austin out of her will.”
Investigators searched Austin Cannon’s cellphone, and they reportedly found several profanity-laced messages from Dustin Cannon. Just minutes after the final message was sent, the shooting victim arrived at the suspect’s house, detectives said.
The suspect is a teacher in the Bald Knob School District. He is being held in the Cleburne County Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
