AKRON, Ohio — Brenna Surgen spends a lot of time at a prayer garden in the Kenmore neighborhood of Akron.
She said taking care of the plot is a way for her to feel closer to her daughter, Janine, who was killed three years ago on July 3, 2020.
What You Need To Know
- June 2 is National Gun Violence Awareness day
- Summit county passed a resolution to remember victims and survivors of gun violence
- Brenna Surgen lost her daughter to gun violence in 2020
“You’re always somebody’s baby, no matter how old you are,” Surgen said as she tended to the small garden. “It doesn’t matter if you are alive or not, she is still my baby.”
Janine was just 20 years old when she was shot and killed, and her mother said not a day has gone by when she does not think of her.
“Sometimes people ask me ‘how many kids do you have?’” She explained. “I have to stop and think about how to answer that, and that is kind of hard, because if I say I have three or four but one is in heaven or gone, they don’t know what to say.”
This is one reason Surgeon said she was thankful for days like National Gun Violence Awareness Day, because it gives people like her a chance to speak out about their loved ones.
Summit County Executive and County Council passed a resolution, recognizing June 2 as Gun Violence Awareness Day, the day is also nationally recognized.
This, to remember lives lost to gun violence throughout the county, like Janine, who was killed just a few blocks away from her mother’s home.
It’s easy to see Janine’s memory all over the neighborhood she used to call home.
Surgen had what she calls a “stop the violence mural” painted nearby the spot her daughter was killed.
The trial for this case is this month.
