2 FBI agents killed, 3 hurt in Florida
Two FBI agents were killed and three wounded in a shooting Tuesday while agents were serving a warrant in a child exploitation case in Florida, according to the FBI. The suspect also died during the standoff, the bureau said.
FBI and officers from multiple agencies were serving a warrant at 6:04 a.m. at the Water Terrace apartment complex in Sunrise, Florida, when a person inside started shooting, said Otishia Browning-Smith, a spokeswoman for the Sunrise Police Department. The suspect, who was not identified, then barricaded himself in the residence.
“A team of law enforcement officers were there to execute a federal courtordered search warrant in furtherance of a violent crimes against children case,” the FBI said.
FBI Director Christopher Wray identified the agents who were killed as Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger. The director said two of the three wounded were in stable condition at a Florida hospital. The third agent did not require hospitalization.
“In accordance with FBI policy, the shooting incident is under investigation by the FBI’s Inspection Division. The review process is thorough and objective and is conducted as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances,” the FBI said.
Asked how many rounds were fired, Browning-Smith said that “there were too many to count.”
Julius McLymont, whose house is next to the apartment complex, told the Associated Press the gunfire erupted with about four shots about 6 a.m.
He thought it was a car backfiring, but about two minutes later he heard another volley of about five shots. He went outside and looked over his fence as police cars and ambulances rushed in. Then he saw officers working on someone lying on the ground, who was loaded into an ambulance.
A SWAT team appeared next, with officers donning riot gear. Then they went around the building, yelling, “Go, go, go.”
McLymont said he couldn’t see the apartment where the shooting happened from his location.
Sunrise police said on Twitter that several roads were closed because of the heavy police presence. Hours later, the department said the scene was safe but urged residents to stay inside due to the “ongoing investigation.”
Another large group of officers gathered outside a hospital in Fort Lauderdale where victims were taken, video showed.
The loss of the two agents Tuesday morning marked the deadliest day for the bureau since 2013, when two agents died during training exercises for the FBI’s elite Hostage Rescue Team.
Warrant operations have proved especially dangerous for the FBI agents.
In December, an agent was wounded while serving a warrant near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Derick Pacheco-Garcia, 32, was later charged with assault on a federal officer and as a felon in possession of a firearm. In 2008, Special Agent Sam Hicks was fatally shot while serving a warrant near Pittsburgh as part of an investigation into a violent drug trafficking group.