Tip-offs led to tourists murder suspect

The authorities found the same calibre of bullets used to kill the pair in the suspect’s room.

Shawn Tyson, 16, has been charged as an adult with first-degree murder in the shootings of James Kouzaris, 24, from Northampton, and James Cooper, 25, from Warwick, on April 16.

Police are still trying to work out why the tourists, who were both graduates of Sheffield University, were in a public housing project, where they were killed, after a night spent in bars in the city of Sarasota.

The documents that detailed some of the evidence against Tyson had been sealed since his arrest.

According to the documents, Tyson was arrested and charged on April 7 with aggravated assault with a firearm in an unrelated case.

Authorities claimed he fired into an occupied car during a dispute, but Tyson said he only fired a revolver into the air.

When officers searched his bedroom, they found two .22 calibre bullets, the same calibre police said were used to kill Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper. Following several anonymous tips, a new search of Tyson’s home found a black ski mask and another .22 round.

Tyson had been released from juvenile detention on April 15, a day before the killings.

Court records show authorities are still looking for a second possible suspect.

One witness told investigators that two white males matching the descriptions of Mr Kouzaris and Mr Cooper were being chased by two black males. After several shots were fired, witnesses reported two black males running away from the scene.