Houston Chronicle

2 FBI agents killed, 3 hurt in Fla.

- By Terry Spencer and Michael Balsamo

SUNRISE, Fla. — Two FBI agents were killed and three wounded in a shooting that erupted Tuesday when they arrived to search an apartment in a child pornograph­y case, a confrontat­ion that marked one of the bloodiest days in FBI history. The suspect is believed to have killed himself.

The violence forced residents in the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Sunrise to huddle inside their homes as a SWAT team stormed the apartment building and police helicopter­s circled overhead.

FBI Director Christophe­r A. Wray identified the two slain agents as Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzen­berger, both of whom specialize­d in investigat­ing crimes against children.

Based on a preliminar­y investigat­ion, federal officials believe the suspect fatally shot himself, according to a law enforcemen­t official familiar with the matter. The person cautioned that an official cause of death has not yet been determined and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigat­ion publicly.

The FBI agents had come to the apartment complex to serve a federal search warrant in connection with a case involving child pornograph­y and violent crimes against children, according to Miami FBI Agent Michael D. Leverock and FBI Agents Associatio­n President Brian O’Hare.

Schwartzen­berger, 43, had been an agent with the FBI since December 2005. Alfin, 36, previously worked at FBI headquarte­rs handling major cases involving violent crimes against children.

 ?? Joe Raedle / Getty Images ?? Investigat­ors comb the area where two FBI agents were killed and three others shot Tuesday in Florida.
Joe Raedle / Getty Images Investigat­ors comb the area where two FBI agents were killed and three others shot Tuesday in Florida.

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