Britons shot in Florida killed as part of 'gang initiation'

Two British friends shot dead on a crime-ridden American housing estate were ambushed and murdered, possibly as part of a gang initiation.

Link to this video http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... dents.html

By Paul Thompson, in Florida and Nick Britten 10:14PM BST 18 Apr 2011

James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, were in Florida when they were killed at 3am in a gangland area rarely visited by tourists.

They apparently accepted a lift from someone they met in a bar, thinking they were being driven home.



A 16 year-old, named locally as Shawn Tyson (left), was charged with their murder. It emerged yesterday that he was freed by a judge last week despite being arrested over an armed robbery.

The bodies of Mr Cooper, a tennis coach who once played Andy Murray, and Mr Kouzaris were found riddled with bullets on a one-way street in the estate, known for drug dealing and gang activity. Police are investigating the theory that the pair spent the night bar hopping in Sarasota.

Officers suspect they believed they were being driven the 12 miles to the resort of Longboat Key.

Instead, they were taken to Newtown, Sarasota, where they were confronted by a gang of masked men.

Police sources said both men were running away when they were shot. Their bodies were found 50ft apart. They still had money on them and police found no evidence to suggest they had been wanting to buy drugs.

Sarasota police chief Mikel Hollaway said detectives had their suspicions but it would be unfair to state them. He said he believed the victims were there of their own volition.

Captain Paul Sutton said police were looking at the possibility of more arrests. He said: “More than one person ran when shots were fired.â€