Mother turned in suspect in deaths of 2 brothers during Fla. store robbery

Kendra Conlon and Isabel Mascarenas | WTSP-TV, Tampa-St. Petersburg

Show Caption Hide Caption Brothers shot execution style during armed robbery Police say an armed robber shot and killed two young brothers while robbing their family's convenience store. The victims' family members are distraught and confused by the shooting.

PALMETTO, Fla. — The quick identification of the suspect who shot and killed two brothers at their family's Palmetto store was due to his own mother.

Early Tuesday morning, Devin Chandler, 25, was named the prime suspect in the "cold-blooded" murders of Khasem Yousef, 25, and Faares Yousef, 17, at Snappy's Kwick Mart Monday afternoon.

U.S. Marshals arrested Chandler Tuesday afternoon off Seneca Road in northeast Tampa on two counts of first degree murder and armed robbery with a firearm.

"We're glad no one else encountered him or was hurt by him," said Capt. Stephen Greer with the Palmetto Police Department.

Greer says Chandler's demeanor was, "Just cold-blooded, they didn't have a chance."

Chandler, 25, of Palmetto, is in custody on warrants charging him with two counts of homicide and one count of armed robbery. A female suspect is also being sought, police said.

The Yousef brothers didn't usually work in the store but had been filling in for vacationing staff Monday at Snappy's Kwick Mart. Palmetto Police Chief Scott Tyler said a lone robber walked into the store and without any demands or warning, shot the young men execution-style.

“The individual went into the store. The two employees who were killed were at the front counter. He just point-blank walked up and shot them, just shot them in the head,” Tyler said.

Police were able to identify Chandler from surveillance video. Witnesses said a young customer went into the store and found the bodies.

While police investigated the shooting, a patrol officer contacted detectives saying they were with Jennifer Chandler, 48, who claimed that her son was possibly involved in the shooting at Snappy's.

Jennifer Chandler told detectives her son drives a blue Chevy Impala and when he came back home, she asked him if he anything to do with what happened at Snappy's, and he denied it and left a short time later. He then later called his mom and said he messed up and that he would not be coming back home.

Detectives showed Jennifer Chandler surveillance video images from Snappy's and 7-Eleven of the suspect. She positively identified the suspect in the video as her son, Devin. She also confirmed that the vehicle parked outside was his.

She allowed detectives to search Devin's bedroom where they found a pair of sandals and red shorts similar to the ones worn by the suspect in the video.

The pain is unbearable for this tight-knit extended Palestinian family.

“Having a really hard time, the murder of two kids, just can't believe it,” said Omar Sureiman, a cousin. "They liked to play soccer and do the things that regular kids do," he said.

Sureiman had just been with Faares Yousef a couple days ago.

“I actually hugged him and told him goodbye, because he was going back to Bradenton,” Sureiman said.

The funerals were to be held Tuesday following Muslim tradition.