2017 World Press Photo competition: Image of Turkish assassin wins prestigious award

Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici won the 2017 World Press Photo competition Monday, with jurors and colleagues lauding his courage and composure in capturing his image of a gun-wielding off-duty Turkish policeman standing over the body of Russia's ambassador, whom he had just fatally shot.

Ozbilici's image was part of a series titled "An Assassination in Turkey" that also won the Spot News - Stories category. The photos were captured in the moments before and after policeman Mevlut Mert Altintas drew a handgun and shot Ambassador Andrei Karlov at a photo exhibition in Ankara on December 19, 2016.

Ozbilici said his professional instincts kicked in despite the shocking scene unfolding in front of him. (Source: AP)

In the winning photo, the gunman, Mevlut Mert Altintas, wearing a suit and tie, stands defiantly, pistol in his right hand pointed at the ground and with his left hand raised, his index finger pointing upward. His mouth is wide open as he shouts angrily. The ambassador's body lies on the floor just behind Altintas. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici, File)

Check out the winners from other categories here.

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "What ISIS Left Behind" by photographer Magnus Wennman, Aftonbladet, which won first prize in the People, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows five-year-old Maha laying on a dirty mattress in the overcrowded transit center in Debaga refugee camp. (Magnus Wennman, Aftonbladet, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Pakistan Bomb Blast" by photographer Jamal Taraqai, European Press Agency, which won first prize in the Spot News, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows lawyers helping their injured colleagues after a bomb explosion in Quetta, Pakistan, on Aug. 8, 2016. Seventy people were killed when a bomb exploded outside a civil hospital where a crowd of lawyers and journalists had gathered to mourn Bilal Anwar Kasi, a senior lawyer who had been assassinated hours earlier. (Jamal Taraqai, European Press Agency, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "The Silent Victims Of A Forgotten War" by photographer Paula Bronstein for Time Lightbox / Pulitzer Center For Crisis Reporting, which won first prize in the Daily Life, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Najiba at the hospital holding her two-year-old nephew Shabir who was injured from a bomb blast in Kabul on 29 March 2016. Afghanistan has endured armed conflict 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded. Afghan civilians are at greater risk today than at any time since Taliban rule, which ended in 2001. According to UN statistics, in the first half of 2016 at least 1,600 people died, and more than 3,500 people were injured. Despite billions of dollars spent by the international community to stabilize the country, Afghanistan has seen little improvement in terms of overall stability and human security. (Paula Bronstein for Time Lightbox / Pulitzer Center For Crisis Reporting, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Offensive On Mosul" by photographer Laurent Van der Stockt, Getty Reportage for Le Monde, which won first prize in the General News, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Iraqi Special Operations Forces searching houses of Gogjali, an eastern district of Mosul, Iraq, looking for Islamic State members, equipment, and evidence on Nov. 2016. The Iraqi Special Operations Forces, also known as the Golden Division, is the Iraqi unit that leads the fight against the Islamic State with the support of the airstrikes of the Coalition Forces. They were the first forces to enter the Islamic State-held city of Mosul in November 2016. (Laurent Van der Stockt, Getty Reportage for Le Monde/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Standing Rock" by photographer Amber Bracken which won first prize in the Contemporary Issues, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a man who is treated with milk of magnesia after being pepper sprayed by police at the blockade on highway 1806. White people have joined the camps in large numbers, often standing in front of indigenous protestors to shield them with their bodies. For nearly 10 months, members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their allies camped out in opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline crossing their territory and threatening their water supply, Cannon Ball, North Dakota, U.S.A., 2016. (Amber Bracken/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Rhino Wars" by photographer Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, which won first prize in the Nature, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a dead Black Rhino Bull, poached for its horns less than 8 hours earlier at Hluhluwe Umfolozi Game Reserve, South Africa. (Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Rhino Wars" by photographer Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, which won first prize in the Nature, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Two rhino poachers, one 19, the other 28 years old, apprehended by an anti-poaching team in Mozambique close to Kruger National Park border, South Africa. They are seen waiting to be processed in the local jail. (Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Rhino Wars" by photographer Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, which won first prize in the Nature, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Care for Wild Africa, a donor run organization that specializes in caring for wounded animals in Nelspruit, South Africa. They have a special focus on rhino and have taken in many rhino orphans from the poaching wars across South Africa at this time. Their latest orphan is Lulah, her mother was killed in Kruger National Park and when the rangers found Lulah she was estimated to be one month old. (Brent Stirton, Getty Images for National Geographic Magazine, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Black Days Of Ukraine" by photographer Valery Melnikov for Rossia Segodnya, which won first prize in the Long-Term Projects category of the World Press Photo contest shows civilians escaping from a fire at a house destroyed by an air attack in the Luhanskaya village. (Valery Melnikov for Rossia Segodnya, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Caretta Caretta Trapped" by photographer Francis Perez, which won first prize in the Nature, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a sea turtle entangled in a fishing net swims off the coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, on June 8, 2016. Sea turtles are considered a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Unattended fishing gear is responsible for many sea turtle deaths (Francis Perez/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Aenikkaen" by photographer Michael Vince Kim, which won first prize in the People, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Korean-Mayan descendants during a birthday party in Merida, Mexico, 2016. (Michael Vince Kim, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Cuba On The Edge Of Change" by photographer Tomas Munita for The New York Times, which won first prize in the Daily Life, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows members of the Ejercito Juvenil del Trabajo who waited along the road to Santiago de Cuba at dawn for Fidel Castro's caravan on December 3, 2016. Cuba declared nine days of mourning after Fidel Castro's death, a period that culminated with his funeral. (Tomas Munita for The New York Times, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Boys Will Be Boys" by photographer Giovanni Capriotti, which won first prize in the Sports, Series, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Muddy York Rugby Football Club players Michael Smith, left, Devin McCarney, center, and Jean Paul Markides, photographed during a rehearsal for their performance at the annual team fundraiser drag show on Saturday, 5 November 2016, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Fundraisers, along with sponsorships, play a major role for the team's season budget. Each player pays an annual fee to the club that covers the uniforms, practice facilities and Rugby Ontario fees. Muddy York helps players who can't afford the payment, with an exemption. (Giovanni Capriotti, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Boys Will Be Boys" by photographer Giovanni Capriotti, which won first prize in the Sports, Series, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Muddy York Rugby Football Club's player Michael Smith carries the ball against the Nashville Grizzlies during the semifinal of the Hoagland Shield on Saturday May 29, 2016, at the Ted Rhodes Park, in Nashville, Tennessee. Nashville beat Toronto 15-0. The Muddy's boys finished the tournament with two wins and two losses, marking an historical edition of the Bingham cup. The next goal of the team is to beat, for the first time ever, a straight side. (Giovanni Capriotti, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Rescued From The Rubble" by photographer Ameer Alhalbi, Agency France-Presse, which won second prize in the Spot News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Syrian civil defense volunteers, known as the White Helmets, rescueing a boy from the rubble following a reported barrel bomb attack on the Bab al-Nairab neighborhood of Aleppo on Nov. 24, 2016. (Ameer Alhalbi, Agence France-Presse, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Iraq's Battle To Reclaim Its Cities" by photographer Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times, which won second prize in the General News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a boy holding the body of his father, killed by the Islamic State, as he arrived at a field hospital on the outskirts of Mosul, Iraq on Nov. 23, 2016. In its sixth week, the military campaign to retake Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, from the Islamic State had bogged down in a grueling fight. Seeking to escape the bloodshed, more civilians than ever took the risk of evacuation, hoping to find help if they could make it past the militants' gun range. By mid-December 2016, up to one million people were trapped inside the city, running low on food and drinking water and facing the worsening cruelty of Islamic State fighters. (Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Medics Assist A Wounded Girl" by photographer Abd Doumany, Agency France-Presse, which won second prize in the Spot News, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a Syrian girl crying out as a wounded child lies next to her at a makeshift hospital on Sept. 12, 2016. She had been injured in reported government airstrikes on the rebel-held town of Douma, east of Damascus, Syria. (Abd Doumany, Agency France-Presse, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Youth Chess Tournaments" by photographer Michael Hanke, which won second prize in the Sports, Series, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a chess player in the Czech Republic expressing his emotions during a game of chess. (Michael Hanke, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Enfarinat" by photographer Antonio Gibotta, Agenzia Controluce, which won second prize in the People, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows the "Floured War" taking place in Ibi, in the province of Alicante, Spain. (Antonio Gibotta, Agenzia Controluce, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Out Of The Way" by photographer Elena Anosova, which won second prize in the Daily Life, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a bear skin which is crucified on a house, Nizhnyaya, Russia. It is the skin of the insomniac bear that came at night and ate the dogs, attacked people, and got into the house through the window. A married couple climbed the roof in panic and waited until the morning to neutralize the beast. They waited until morning because it is pitch-dark at night. There is only electricity in this settlement for 14 hours a day, in the morning and the evening. There is no central power supply service, only a small diesel-driven station. (Elena Anosova/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Out Of The Way" by photographer Elena Anosova, which won second prize in the Daily Life, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows all people are hereditary hunters in this small settlement near Nizhnyaya,Tunguska River, Russia, It is intricately woven into the local way of life. In Russia's extreme north, century-long ways of life dominate the daily life of some of the most isolated parts of the desolate landscape. Modern civilization penetrates slowly and fragmentarily. There are no roads, and only one helicopter shuttle twice monthly. The residents' ancestors can be traced back to hereditary hunters in a small settlement near Nizhnyaya, more than 300 years ago. (Elena Anosova, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Out Of The Way" by photographer Elena Anosova, which won second prize in the Daily Life, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows that life has not changed for centuries in this remote area surrounded by pristine wilderness In Russia's extreme north, century-long ways of life dominate the daily life of some of the most isolated parts of the desolate landscape. Modern civilization penetrates slowly and fragmentarily. There are no roads, and only one helicopter shuttle twice monthly. The residents' ancestors can be traced back to hereditary hunters in a small settlement near Nizhnyaya Tunguska River, Russia, more than 300 years ago. (Elena Anosova/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Iraq's Battle To Reclaim Its Cities" by photographer Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times, which won second prize in the General News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a family flees the fighting in Mosul, Iraq's second-largest city, as oil fields burned in Qayyara, Iraq, on Nov. 12, 2016. In its sixth week, the military campaign to retake Mosul from the Islamic State had bogged down in a grueling fight. Seeking to escape the bloodshed, more civilians than ever took the risk of evacuation, hoping to find help if they could make it past the militants' gun range. By mid-December 2016, up to one million people were trapped inside the city, running low on food and drinking water and facing the worsening cruelty of Islamic State fighters. (Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "An Iranian Journey" by photographer Hossein Fatemi, Panos Pictures, which won second prize in the Long-Term Projects category of the World Press Photo contest shows a Muslim taxi driver praying on the sidewalk while Tara and Soroush, two Iranian students who live downtown, celebrate their wedding day in Tehran, Iran. (Hossein Fatemi, Panos Pictures, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Fidelity" by photographer Kristina Kormilitsyna, Kommersant Newspaper, which won third prize in the People, Singles, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a woman stroking a girl's head as she rests on her lap whilst sitting on a sofa in a police station in Camaguey, Cuba, on Feb. 12, 2016, with a portrait of Fidel Castro hanging above them. (Kristina Kormilitsyna, Kommersant Newspaper, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Olympians" by photographer Jay Clendenin, Los Angels Times, which won third prize in the People, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows Zach Garrett who will be part of the U.S.A. Archery team, at the 2016 Rio Olympics and is photographed at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, June 22, 2016. This is Garrett's first Olympics. (Jay Clendenin, Los Angeles Times, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "We Are Not Taking Any Prisoners" by photographer Alessio Romenzi, which won third prize in the General News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows a fighter of the Libyan forces affiliated to the Tripoli government carrying a comrade who was seriously injured just seconds before by a booby trap placed by Islamic State fighters.(Alessio Romenzi/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "We Are Not Taking Any Prisoners" by photographer Alessio Romenzi, which won third prize in the General News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows an Islamic State fighter who is violently dragged by Libyan fighters affiliated with the government in Tripoli while they shout and threaten to lynch him Dec. 5, 2016.Few minutes later he was found in the same place shot dead multiple times. (Alessio Romenzi, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "We Are Not Taking Any Prisoners" by photographer Alessio Romenzi, which won third prize in the General News, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows fighters of the Libyan forces affiliated to the Tripoli government walking around the gigantic chandelier of the conference room in Ouagadougou Congress Complex, Sirte, Libya. (Alessio Romenzi/World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Isle Of Salvation" by photographer Francesco Comello, which won third prize in the Daily Life, Stories, category of the World Press Photo contest shows the blessing of the well water. The inhabitants of this secluded and silent community call it the "Isle of Salvation", hidden near a busy road that leads from Moscow to Yaroslavl, Russia. Founded in the early 1990s by an Orthodox priest, it is a unique spiritual, educational and cultural center that currently accommodates 300 boys and girls, many seen as social outcasts. (Francesco Comello, World Press Photo via AP)

In this image released Monday Feb. 13, 2017, by World Press Photo titled "Table Rock Nebraska" by photographer Markus Jokela, Helsingin Sanomat, which won third prize in the Long-Term Projects category of the World Press Photo contest shows Kelly Freeman arriving to her wedding reception in Dubois, Kansas, U.S.A., Oct. 5, 2013. (Markus Jokela, Helsingin Sanomat, World Press Photo via AP)