While violent crime is down nationally, a recent spate of fatal shootings in Tampa has people on edge and wondering what can be done. Fatal shootings in neighborhoods like Hyde Park and New Tampa, where such crime is rare, have added fuel to the fire.
Brucie Klay Boonstoppel, whose son Harrison was shot dead from the cross fire of rival teens in Ybor City last year, is sounding the alarm about the city’s rise in gun crime. She and Harrison’s twin sister, Ava, discussed gun violence and its impact on WMNF WaveMakers with Janet & Tom on Tuesday (June 25).
Harrison, 20, went to Ybor City Oct. 29 for Halloween. He and two friends were there just 10 minutes when shots were fired and Harrison was randomly killed while walking on the sidewalk. His friends were uninjured. A 14-year-old, who fired one of the guns, was killed and 16 others were injured.
The gun used to kill Harrison had been stolen, police said.
A recent study by Everytown for Gun Safety found that the source of most stolen guns is private cars and that the number of guns stolen from cars has tripled in the past decade and most of the time those cars are unlocked in private driveways. Melissa Ransdell with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America discussed the findings during WaveMakers.
Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez told WaveMakers that in a six-month period in 2023 in unincorporated Hillsborough County 143 guns were reported stolen and 87 percent of them were from unlocked cars. “Only two were stolen where the car window was broken,” she said. “That’s where guns are getting in the hands of young people.”
While there’s no law in Florida against leaving a gun in an unlocked car, common sense should tell you that’s not safe, Lopez said. “We’re getting the word out,” Lopez said. “If you have to store your gun in your car….have it locked,” she said. Better yet, she suggested, take it in the house and don’t leave it in a parked car at all.
Lopez announced Monday that she has expanded her Gun Violence Unit which was started 15 years ago. She has five prosecutors now exclusively handling gun crime cases. “We have attorneys who are very specifically and specially trained to handle these cases,” she said. “If a shooting occurs in the middle of the night our prosecutors are getting a call…really just moments after a trigger is pulled….It will help us prosecute these cases.”
While gun crime “ebbs and flows like every crime,” Lopez said, “we’re seeing guns in the hands in the people who should not have guns–felons, young people….We’re trying to shine a light on teens with guns.
Boonstoppel and her husband have channeled their grief into action, starting a memorial fund in Harrison’s name through the Community Foundation Tampa Bay and planning a foundation focused on educating youths about gun the danger of guns. You can follow their efforts by searching for #LLHBoon or on Instagram at Remembering_HarrisonBoon and on Facebook at Remembering Harrison Boonstoppel
Hear the entire conversation by clicking the link below, going to the WaveMakers archives or by searching for WMNF WaveMakers wherever you listen to podcasts.
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