Two FBI agents who made careers out of hunting down sexual predators in South Florida were gunned down by a suspect in a federal child pornography case early Tuesday, officials said.
The agents were shot at a residential complex in Sunrise at about 6 a.m. while executing a court-ordered search warrant in a case involving violent crimes against children, FBI officials said in a statement.
FBI Director Christopher Wray identified the slain agents as Daniel Alfin, 36, and Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, both career child exploitation and sex crimes investigators.
Three other agents were wounded, the agency said. Two were listed in stable condition at a local hospital. They were not immediately identified.
The third wounded agent was not taken to the hospital, Wray said.
The suspect is also dead, FBI officials said.
A federal law enforcement source told the Miami Herald that the suspect is believed to have shot and killed himself during the standoff.
“In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under investigation by the FBI’s Inspection Division,” the statement read. “Because this is an ongoing investigation, no further information will be released at this time.”
Sources earlier Tuesday told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that a second FBI agent had been killed during the shooting at a residential complex called Reflections.
A federal law enforcement source told the Miami Herald earlier Tuesday that at least five FBI agents were shot at a home in Sunrise, leaving two “gravely wounded.”
Police in Sunrise said a man suspected of possessing child pornography was barricaded in his home on Reflections Boulevard, shutting down nearby traffic following the gunfire, according to the report.
Sunrise police tweeted at 9 a.m. that the “scene is safe,” but asked residents to stay in their homes. The department had earlier asked drivers to stay away from the area, noting the “heavy” police presence.
The child pornography investigation was being conducted by the FBI and federal prosecutors in Fort Lauderdale, the Herald reported.
source NYpost