Peter Hyman Jr.

Peter “PJ” Hyman Jr. was a 16-year-old Black male from Tampa, Florida, remembered by his family as a funny, sweet, and goofy young man. An honor student at Jefferson High School and a member of Greater Mount Carmel Church, PJ was the middle child and only son, a protector to his older and younger sisters. He loved basketball, video games, dancing, and building with LEGOs, a hobby he continued into his teens. Just two weeks before his death, he had talked with his mother, Bianca Cooper, about his dream of becoming an engineer. His family said he was a good kid who “made friends with anyone without judgment.”

On the evening of September 14, 2024, PJ was at the Citrus Park Town Center Mall with his friends. They were finishing up in the food court when, just after 7 p.m., gunfire erupted outside near the Red Robin restaurant. As others ran for safety, PJ was struck. Deputies from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrived to find him in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to his upper body. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the shooting. In an update provided by his mother, the family announced that an arrest had been made in connection with PJ’s death. Samuel Oquendo, who was 15 years old at the time, was taken into custody. He was charged with second-degree murder and is set to be tried as an adult.

The community mourned the loss of a promising young life, holding a candlelight vigil where friends signed a poster in PJ’s memory. His mother started a GoFundMe page to help the family, describing her son’s death as an “act of senseless gun violence.” She remembered him as a sweet boy who did not deserve what happened to him. As of the family’s update following the September 2024 shooting, the case against the suspect is proceeding through the court system.