AKRON, Ohio — For the past 27 years, the Victims Assistance Program of Summit County has been hosting their annual Angel Tree Ceremony.

What You Need To Know

  • The Angel Tree Ceremony honors the memory of people who lost their lives to violence in Summit County

  • More than 1,000 men, women and children were remembered at the ceremony

  • This event has been hosted for the past 27 years

This event honors the memory of more than 1,000 men, women and children lost to violence in Summit County. 

At the event, photos of hundreds who have died were hung on a wall, but Shawntaya Johnson was only looking for one: her brother, Shawn Fann. 

Fann was killed while he was at work on April 6. 

"He just got shot by another co-worker, in the freezer of the job,” Johnson said. "(He was killed) for no reason at all."

Johnson was close to her brother, the siblings were less than a year apart in age. 

She never expected to end up at an event like the Angel Tree Ceremony, surrounded by dozens of other families mourning the loss of their loved ones. 

"I'm heartbroken even more, this hurt bad, every day," she said. 

With more than 1,000 victims of violence from Summit County being remembered at the ceremony, Johnson said she wants to see a change in her community. 

“There needs to be something different about guns," she said.  

For more information on victims' assistance, visit their website.

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