Two British tourists holidaying in Florida have been shot dead.
The bodies of James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, of Northampton, were found by police in the small hours of Saturday morning in a gang-infested area of Sarasota called Newtown, which has been the scene of 12 shootings in the past year.
A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with the murders.
The men were staying 12 miles away in a more upmarket island city called Longboat Key.
Police were called to the crime scene after a local called 911 after hearing gunfire. The men were pronounced dead at the scene, where officers marked 20 shell casings on the street.
Captain Paul Sutton of the Sarasota police told The Daily Telegraph: "We’re trying to work out why they were in this area. It’s a residential area and not somewhere that would normally attract outsiders".
He said the dead men had not been carrying any weapons or drugs or a high amount of cash.
by Dinah Hatch
