Another police officer killed in US

Miami, December 22

A police officer was killed in the US on Sunday, a day after two New York police officers were shot dead by a gunman in Brooklyn.

The latest incident happened in the town of Tarpon Springs, 20 miles (about 32 km) north of Tampa, Florida, according to local authorities.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s department confirmed the killing of Charles Kondek.

The police detained Marco Antonio Parrilla Jr, 24, suspected of killing the officer, a report in the Tampa Bay Times said.

According to the WTSP television, the shooting happened when Kondek, 45, the father of five and a 17-year veteran of the Tarpon Springs police force, responded to a complaint that someone, apparently the suspect, was creating a disturbance and knocking on the doors of homes.

When the police arrived at the scene, the suspect opened fire, killing the officer, and then tried to flee, but was arrested.

On Saturday, New York police officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were murdered while they were sitting inside their patrol car, by Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who later killed himself at a local subway station.

According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the attacker had hours earlier, announced his intention to shoot police officers, apparently in response to the recent killings of African Americans by US law enforcement officers in unrelated incidents. — IANS/EFE