{"id":200827,"date":"2026-03-21T23:08:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T23:08:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/200827\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T23:08:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T23:08:14","slug":"tampa-all-abilities-playground-renamed-to-honor-2023-ybor-city-mass-shooting-victim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/200827\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa all-abilities playground renamed to honor 2023 Ybor City mass shooting victim"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ybor Ybor City mass shooting victim honored<\/a> <\/p>\n

The city of Tampa is turning heartbreak into hope, honoring a young man\u2019s life with a space designed for joy, inclusion and community. FOX 13’s Jennifer Kveglis reports.<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – The city of Tampa <\/a>is turning heartbreak into hope, honoring a young man\u2019s life with a space designed for joy, inclusion and community.<\/p>\n

City leaders officially renamed the all-abilities playground at New Tampa Community Park to the Harrison Boonstoppel Playground.<\/p>\n

The dedication comes about two and a half years after Boonstoppel was killed in the October 2023 mass shooting in Ybor City<\/a>. He was 20 years old.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Two accused gunmen in deadly Ybor City mass shooting appear in court<\/a><\/p>\n

Family members and community leaders gathered for the ceremony, which included a butterfly release symbolizing new beginnings and a sign unveiling in his honor.<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

The Ybor City mass shooting left two people dead, including Boonstoppel and a 14-year-old, and injured 16 others.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

According to his family, Boonstoppel had only been in the area for about 10 minutes when the shooting began. He was struck and killed after being hit by multiple bullets.<\/p>\n

Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez described that day as one of the worst of her career.<\/p>\n

Dig deeper:<\/p>\n

Boonstoppel\u2019s family describes him as resilient from the very beginning.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Courtesy: The Boonstoppel family <\/p>\n

Born premature and underweight, Boonstoppel spent his first months in the neonatal intensive care unit and faced ongoing medical challenges growing up, including the use of leg braces, a feeding tube and a cochlear implant.<\/p>\n

Despite those obstacles, Boonstoppel\u2019s mother says he lived with joy and determination, never defined by his struggles. He graduated from Pepin Academies in 2022.<\/p>\n

His mother, Brucie, calls Harrison her “victory story.”<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Brucie says she continues to feel Harrison\u2019s presence in everyday moments and believes his legacy will live on through the park.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Courtesy: The Boonstoppel family <\/p>\n

“His life of 20 years will forever be known and continue with kindness, happiness and hope,” Brucie said.<\/p>\n

City leaders say the playground represents more than just a name change.<\/p>\n

“This park is about love, tolerance, empathy and family,” Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera said.<\/p>\n

“We should all find peace and joy in the truth that Harrison\u2019s spirit will share in the moments of love and laughter in this park for years to come,” Harrison\u2019s former teacher Patrick Morton said.<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

The playground is designed as an all-abilities space, meaning children of all physical and developmental abilities can play together.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

For Harrison\u2019s family, it reflects the way he lived, pushing through challenges with positivity and embracing life fully.<\/p>\n

The park also stands as a reminder of the lives impacted by gun violence and the importance of community healing.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Harrison\u2019s family says they will continue honoring his legacy through the Harrison Bruce Boonstoppel Memorial Fund<\/a>, which supports anti-gun violence and mental health initiatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Source: This article is based on reporting from FOX 13’s Jennifer Kveglis, including interviews with Harrison Boonstoppel\u2019s family, Tampa city officials, and community members, as well as remarks from Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez and Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw.<\/p>\n

Tampa<\/a>Ybor City<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ybor City mass shooting victim honored The city of Tampa is turning heartbreak into hope, honoring a young…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":200828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47,629,115,135,137,136,628,10364],"class_list":["post-200827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-fl","tag-hillsborough","tag-news","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-us","tag-ybor-city"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}