Detectives search for suspect in Bradenton double homicide

BRADENTON (FOX 13) - Deputies are searching for the man they say shot and killed a Bradenton couple in the middle of the day Friday.

The man and woman found dead outside of a house on 15th Street Court E. around 1:20 p.m. have been identified by the sheriff's office as 27-year-old Lashawna Stevenson-Weeks and 32-year-old Barry Joseph.

Deputies were initially called to the home for a reported shooting. Both victims are from Manatee County, but neither lived at the home.

Family and friends of the victims consoled each other outside of the large crime scene Friday, which was roped off with yellow police tape for hours. 

Detectives are treating the case as a double homicide. They told FOX 13 News they believe the man and woman were targeted, but could not elaborate on why.

They said the suspect is a light-skinned black male who was seen wearing a hat and white t-shirt. He drove away from the scene in a dark-colored compact vehicle, headed southbound on 15th St. toward 53rd Ave.