A photo capturing the assassination of Russia's ambassador to Turkey has been named World Press Photo of the Year.
Burhan Ozbilici, a photographer for the Associated Press news agency in Turkey, witnessed the assassination at an art exhibition in Ankara Dec. 19, 2016 .
He captured the assassination's chaotic aftermath as off-duty police officer Mevlut Mert Altıntas stood over the corpse of Ambassador Andrei Karlov.
The World Press Photo jury said that the image “spoke to the hatred of our times.”
“Every time it came on the screen, you almost had to move back because it’s such an explosive image,” said jury member Mary F. Calvert. “We really felt that it epitomizes the definition of what the World Press Photo of the Year is and means.”
The World Press Photo awards honor photographers whose images represents an event or issue of great journalistic importance. Ozbilici will take home a 10,000 euro ($10,638) prize for his work as part of the prestigious award.
The 2017 contest drew entries from more than 5,000 photographers from 125 countries.
