TAMPA, Fla. — Hillsborough County State Attorney Suzy Lopez announced on Monday the expansion and restructuring of the agency’s Gun Violence Unit to combat one of the most pressing issues facing the community.

What You Need To Know

  • Hillsborough State Attorney Suzy Lopez has announced an expansion of her office's Gun Violence Unit  

  • It will expand to include five full-time attorneys 

  • The Gun Violence Unit was established 15 years ago with one full-time attorney  

“My office will dedicate significant resources towards prosecuting these brutal crimes that tear families apart and terrorize our neighborhoods,” she said. “Gone are the days when prosecutors treated gun violence like any other case that came into our office.”

Lopez said the State Attorney’s Office established a gun violence section nearly 15 years ago with one full-time attorney. Recently, two attorneys have also been dedicated to the GVU on a part-time basis, according to Lopez. To expand the GVU, Lopez said she plans to boost the number to five full-time attorneys.

“This is all that they do,” she said. “There will not be one, there will not be two, but five experienced prosecutors whose sole responsibility will be prosecuting gun violence cases.”

Lopez, who is the state attorney for the 13th Judicial Circuit, said those prosecutors will go to crime scenes and assist their law enforcement partners at the beginning stages of the investigation.

Brucie Boonstoppel, whose son, Harrison, 20, was killed last October during an Ybor City shooting, said she supports expanding the highly specialized gun violence team.

“It’s definitely going in the direction that we want,” she said. “I admire them and I’m thankful, and I can’t imagine getting through this without the support of them.”

The Ybor shooting — which also resulted in the death of a 14-year-old boy, and left 16 others injured — has been considered one of the worst in Tampa’s history. Ava Boonstoppel is Harrison’s twin and said they should have been celebrating their 21st birthday together earlier this month.

“I really truly never want anyone else to feel the way that we do,” she said. “I have to live the rest of my life like this, and it’s terrifying, and it’s terrible, and I wish this upon nobody.” 

Lopez said other measures that will help combat gun violence include enforcing mandatory minimum sentences and prosecuting felons who illegally possess a gun.