Obama condemns killing of two NY police officers

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (AFP): US President Barack Obama "unconditionally" condemned on Sunday the killing of two uniformed New York police officers who were gunned down in their patrol car in Brooklyn by a lone gunman.

"I unconditionally condemn today's murder of two police officers in New York City. Two brave men won't be going home to their loved ones tonight, and for that, there is no justification," Obama said in a statement following the Saturday murders. "Tonight, I ask people to reject violence and words that harm, and turn to words that heal."

The gunman assassinated two uniformed New York police officers in a cold-blooded attack on their patrol car Saturday that followed weeks of outrage over police killings of unarmed black men.

The two officers, one a newlywed, were shot in the head through the window of their vehicle in broad daylight in Brooklyn in an attack that left America's biggest city reeling just days before Christmas.