Tributes paid to Britons shot in US

Apr 18 2011

Tributes have been paid to two young British holidaymakers shot dead in Florida amid mystery about how they ended up in a run down area in the early hours.

University friends James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, were murdered in the street in a deprived part of the city of Sarasota at about 3am on Saturday.

Local officers said it was "very unusual" to find tourists in the area, which is about 12 miles away from the upmarket island city of Longboat Key where the pair were staying.

Sarasota police said the Britons were not carrying any drugs but would not confirm whether they had any weapons or an unusually large amount of money.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and charged with two counts of murder.

Mr Kouzaris, from Northampton, was on a three-week holiday in Florida with Mr Cooper and his family, from Warwick.

Mr Kouzaris' parents described him as a "wonderful son" in a brief statement released through Northamptonshire Police. They went on: "We loved him so much and we can't believe he has gone. We are absolutely devastated and in a state of complete shock."

Mr Cooper represented Warwickshire at tennis and once played Andy Murray in a junior tournament.

Friend and former coach James Roe, from Kenilworth Tennis, Squash and Croquet Club, said: "It is very tragic. None of us are sure of the ins and outs of what went on and how he came to be in that situation.

"We know how he died, but why he died is what we want to know. For somebody to die in that manner, to be murdered, to be shot, it is just bizarre."