Suspect identified. See also here.

A man has shot dead two New York City police officers sitting inside a patrol car, before running into a nearby underground station and committing suicide.

The shooting took place in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood, where streets were sealed off. Both officers were rushed to Woodhull Medical Centre, where they pronounced dead.

Authorities say the suspect shot himself in the head inside the station. His motives are not yet clear.

The shooting comes at a time when police in New York and the rest of the US are being heavily criticised for their tactics following the chokehold death of Eric Garner, an unarmed black man who was stopped by police for selling loose, untaxed cigarettes and could be heard on an amateur video gasping "I can't breathe" as he was being arrested.

Demonstrators around the country have staged die-ins and other protests since a grand jury decided on December 3 not to indict the white officer involved in Mr Garner's death. That decision closely followed a Missouri grand jury's decision not to charge a white officer over the fatal shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown, 18.

Several New York officers were assaulted during demonstrations that have largely been peaceful, including one that drew thousands to the Brooklyn Bridge.

President of the police officers' union Patrick Lynch and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio have been locked in a public battle over the treatment of officers following the Garener grand jury decision. Just days ago, Mr Lynch suggested police officers sign a petition to demand that the mayor not attend their funerals should they die in the line of duty.

The last shooting death of an NYPD officer came in December 2011, when 22-year veteran Peter Figoski responded to a report of a break-in at a Brooklyn apartment. He was shot in the face and killed by one of the suspects hiding in a side room when officers arrived.

The gunman, Lamont Pride, was convicted of murder and sentenced in 2013 to 45 years to life in prison.

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