A police officer has been shot to death in Florida, authorities say, hours after two cops were killed in Brooklyn.

The shooting occurred at around 3am (8am Irish time) in Tarpon Springs, about 48km from Tampa.

A suspect has been taken into custody, The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

The circumstances of the incident were not clear, and a news conference was scheduled later on Sunday.

On Saturday, two officers were shot while sitting in their patrol car in Brooklyn by a suspect who then took his own life. New York officials have described the killing as an assassination, and President Barack Obama has condemned it. You can read more about that story here.