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Mother who lost son in Ybor City shooting launches movement against gun violence: 'We can make a difference'

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Published  September 12, 2024 3:36pm EDT
Ybor City
FOX 13 News

Mother turning grief into action

Nearly a year after losing her 20-year-old son to gun violence in Ybor City, Brucie Klay Boonstoppel is launching a movement to prevent future tragedies.

TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa mother says young people settling scores with guns is out of control.

"They don't care if they die. That's why they just pull out guns and shoot into a crowd with no regard," said Brucie Klay Boonstoppel.

Her 20-year-old son, Harrison, was a bystander caught in the crossfire as two groups of teens and young men engaged in a gunfight on 7th Avenue in Ybor City on Oct. 29, 2023. Sixteen people were wounded. Harrison was one of two people killed.

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"He was always smiling. He loved life," said Brucie.

Pictured: Harrison Boonstoppel

To bring a positive out of her family's tragedy, she's a mom who's on a new mission to reduce violence by teaching kids early in new venues.

"Many of these other kids who have been shot, suicide, drugs, they would be here and it's insulting that this is happening when we can make a difference," said Brucie.

She's starting a movement to help build our kids differently with new kinds of lessons taught in places like her South Tampa dance studio and local little leagues.

"Let's feed our children the idea that we are going to make a difference. We can be a community. We can be kind to the kids at school and then it doesn't come into the bullying, the social media, and then of course, the guns.

Brucie has established the Harrison Boonstoppel Memorial Fund to develop a kind of curriculum or method where, along with activities like dance and baseball, kids can be taught the dangers of gun violence and bullying.

"I'm not telling the kids to be afraid," she said. "Just the opposite. Kindness works with your team, your community, and it will make a difference."

She's starting her movement on Saturday, Sept. 14, with a two-class workshop featuring the well-known dance instruction team, The Movement. Classes will be held from 2-4 p.m, costing $40.

They're open to young people ages 8-18. RSVP by sending $40: Zelle 813-335-0900 or Venmo 813-335-0900.

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