James Cooper, 25, and James Kouzaris, 24, were attempting to flee when they were shot multiple times and left to die in a run down housing project known for drug dealing and gang activity

Detectives believe and left to die in a run down housing project known for drug dealing and gang activity.
One theory being investigated is that they accepted a lift back to their rented condominium in the fashionable tourist resort of Longboat Key after spending the night bar hopping.
But instead, they were driven to the low income housing project where they were ambushed by at least one armed teenager.
Police sources said both men had been running away when they were gunned down. Their bodies were found 50 feet apart.
They were still in possession of cash, and police did not find any evidence to suggest they had been wanting to buy drugs.

Local residents living near the crime scene said they had been told the two former University of Sheffield students were ambushed by masked men who attempted to rob them.
Sonja Seymour, 31, who lives on the street, said:” I heard that when they arrived here there were already some people waiting for them. They were wearing masks.
“The men ran away and they were shot. I saw one of them lying in the street on his back with his arms outstretched. The other was across the road and lying in his back.
“They were not moving. The ambulance arrived and tried to work on the two men, but they could not do anything. They were covered up and taken away and the police put up all yellow tape.”
A police source said: ”It is entirely plausible that they were taken to this location where they were confronted by at least one individual. We are still trying to determine why they would want to be in this area at that time of night. We know they did not have their own transport so they were brought to this location. Someone could have called ahead and people were waiting for them
"It was late at night and the would not have known what this area was like."
The bodies of Cooper and Kouzaris were found in an area known as Newtown in the north of Sarasota.
A 16-year-old boy has been charged with the double murder.
Police sources revealed he had been arrested for a violent gun offence just over two weeks ago when shots were fired in an attempted robbery.
The teenager was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon but released by a court while police carried out further inquiries.
As it was his first offence the boy, who has just turned 16, was released but police said they had been planning to pursue the case.
The alleged killer’s name has not been released but he lives with his mother in the housing project block where both men were killed.
Police said he will be charged as an adult which could lead to the death penalty if convicted of first degree murder.
The parents of Mr Cooper, a former child tennis star, were said by a family friend to be “too distraught” to speak about their only son’s death.
Speaking outside the rented condominium building a family friend said: ”They are both hysterical and are still just coming to terms with what has happened.
“It is like a very bad film, a complete nightmare.”