More details appear on the two FBI agents shot dead when they showed up Tuesday to search an apartment in a child pornography case in Florida. Christopher A. Wray, director of the FBI, identified the two murdered agents as Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin, who both specialized in the investigation of crimes against children.
Three other officers were injured in the shooting. The suspect is also dead.
According to the FBI website, the shooting was one of the bloodiest days in FBI history in South Florida and among the deadliest nationally. Schwartzenberger, a native of Pueblo, Colorado, is the third female agent killed outside the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, CBS Denver reports.
CBS-affiliated WPEC-TV
Schwartzenberger, 43, has been an agent at the FBI since December 2005 and, according to court records, worked in the Miami field office with a group of agents who deal with violent crimes against children. Her work has focused primarily on offenders who sexually exploit children online, and to investigate other crimes against children. Schwartzenberger is survived by a husband and two children, George Piro, who heads the FBI’s field office in Miami, told a news conference.
The CBS subsidiary WPEC-TV spoke to Schwartzenberg in 2018 for an investigation into sex blackmail. In 2013, she also spoke to CBS Miami about catching those who exploit others, including children.
“Extortion is a form of exploitation in which the perpetrator uses force to obtain sexual images or videos, money or even sex of the victim. The victim may be an adult, a teenager or a child,” he said. she said.
Alfin, 36, who has also been investigating cases of child exploitation, has previously worked at FBI headquarters and handled major cases involving violent crimes against children, according to court reports. He holds a degree in information technology and has completed the FBI’s specialized cybercrime training programs. He was involved in a major child abuse investigation called Playpen that led to arrests around the world.
“It’s the same with any criminal offense,” Alfin said in 2017 about the Playpen case. “As they get smarter, we adapt, we find it. It’s a cat-and-mouse game, except it’s not a game. Children are abused, and it’s our job to stop it. . “
Alfin is survived by a wife and child, Piro said.
Alfin’s brother is a sergeant at the Coral Springs police station and his sister-in-law is at Pembroke Pines PD, reports CBS Miami.
Alfin began his FBI career in 2009 at the Albany FBI office before leaving in 2014, CBS WRGB-TV reports. The Albany office said in a statement that it was “sad” and called Alfin an “incredible agent”.
After the shooting on Tuesday, police motorcycles with their flashing lights escorted a fire rescue truck as it brought the body of one of the agents to the medical examiner’s office in nearby Dania Beach. Law enforcement officers from numerous agencies lined up to pay their respects when a flag-covered body was removed from the vehicle and taken inside.
“Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent Schwartzenberger are showing heroism today in defending their country,” Wray said in a statement. “The FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and be forever grateful for their bravery.”
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences at an immigration event in the White House.
“They put their lives on the line and it’s a hell of a price to pay,” he said of the agents. “My heart aches for the families.”