Two Brits Killed in Florida
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- This is the mugshot of Sarasota teenager Shawn Tyson who was arrested for the alleged shooting deaths of two British holiday makers James Cooper and James Kouzaris. Tyson, 16, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the shootings last week in Sarasota. However, as it was his first offense he was reportedly released from custody while police investigate the case. Reports say he will now be charged as an adult and, if convicted of first-degree murder, could face the death penalty. U.S. officers were said to be mystified that the two middle-class visitors were in the Newton district. One theory, however, is that they may have accepted the offer of a lift back to their upmarket resort 12 miles away, only to find themselves being set up for a robbery. Their family and friends have denied the pair were trying to buy drugs. Residents in Sarasota had claimed James Cooper and James Kouzaris would only have visited the gang-infested Newton area to buy marijuana. The pair were fleeing for their lives when they were shot multiple times in the back with a handgun at 3am on Saturday. They were left to die in a run-down housing project infamous for drug-dealing and violent gang activity. Their bodies were found 50ft apart surrounded by at least 20 bullet cases. It was understood that the weapon allegedly used by Tyson was a TEC-9, a semi-automatic handgun. Mr. Cooper, 25, a tennis coach who once played Andy Murray, and Mr. Kouzaris, 24, a town planner and leading amateur rugby player, met while studying at Sheffield University. Sarasota, FL. 04/19/11.
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