James Cooper of Inspire2Coach shot dead

A tennis coach working within the University of Warwick was one of two men shot dead in Florida last Saturday, April 16. James Cooper, aged 25, was killed in the Newtown area of Sarasota in the early hours of Saturday morning while on holiday with his family.

According to the local paper, the _Sarasota Herald-Tribune_, Cooper was shot three times in the chest. An eyewitness saw him then run from a driveway, duck under a clothesline, and fall onto a patch of grass, where he died from his wounds. His friend James Kouzaris, 24, was also killed in the same incident, after being shot in the head. It is believed that the men were then the victim of a botched robbery attempt.

The investigation is focussing around the reason that the two men were found in the Newtown neighbourhood, an area several miles away from tourist centres, and notorious for the prevalence of gang members. In response to suggestions that the two men may have been in the neighbourhood in an attempt to buy drugs, an ex-girlfriend of James Cooper emphasised his “cautious” personality, and claimed that “everyone who knows [Cooper and Kouzaris] knows it would never be that.” It is instead now believed that the two men were in search of the nearby International House of Pancakes, a 24-hour fast-food restaurant.

16 year-old Shawn Tyson, local to the Newtown neighbourhood, was arrested within 24 hours of the shootings, and will face trial for two first-degree homicides. _The Daily Mirror_ claims that Tyson is a gang member who self-styles as ‘Young Savage.’

James Cooper was originally a Warwick resident, and worked full-time in the Warwick Tennis Centre with Inspire2Coach, a sports company that provides training for tennis players and aspiring tennis coaches. Cooper had recently been promoted to Head Coach, a role he was due to assume upon his return from his holiday in Florida.

Inspire2Coach said that Cooper will be remembered “as a great guy, as a talented tennis coach, a committed team member, and above all, a close friend.” The University Press Office mentioned that it was saddened by the news of his death.

Stanley and Sandra, the parents of James Cooper, said that “heaven has another angel,” and that “he was gentle, kind, compassionate, clever and an athlete, but beyond all his achievements he was full of love.” The family returned home to Hampton Lucy in Warwickshire on Tuesday of last week.