Deadly day for FBI: Volley of gunfire met agents investigating child porn in South Florida

Rafael Olmeda, Lisa J. Huriash, Mario Ariza and Robin Webb, South Florida Sun Sentinel
Updated

SUNRISE, Fla. — The two FBI agents who lost their lives in a predawn confrontation in Sunrise on Tuesday morning specialized in taking down grown men who exploited children for pornography.

They gathered with other agents outside a first-floor unit at the Water Terrace Apartments, armed with a search warrant as part of their investigation. It was the kind of enforcement action that takes place all the time, usually without incident.

But Tuesday morning did not follow the routine. The occupant of the apartment opened fire. Five FBI agents were hit, some multiple times. Two did not survive.

It was the deadliest day for the FBI since 9/11, and the first time two agents were gunned down in the line of duty in more than 30 years.

“All we heard was shots, bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam,” one neighbor said, estimating 50 rounds fired. “SWAT teams and cops came in and started carrying people out. ... They smashed the SWAT truck into the front patio.”

Three other agents were injured. The suspect hid in his apartment. Less than three hours later, he was dead too.

Questions remain about what went wrong. But in the immediate aftermath of the FBI’s deadliest day since 9/11, the attention was turned to those who sacrificed their lives to protect South Florida’s children from adults who would exploit them for sex and pornography.

“Special Agent (Daniel) Alfin and Special Agent (Laura) Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defense of their country,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful for their bravery.”

The last time two FBI agents were shot and killed in the line of duty was April 11, 1986 — and it happened in South Florida. Agents Jerry Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed during a gun battle with robbery suspects in Southwest Miami. The suspects, armed with high powered semiautomatic rifles, also wounded five other agents before being killed.

Today the federal building in Miramar is named for Dove and Grogan.

Brian O’Hare, president of the FBI Agents Association, said Tuesday’s shooting showed the dangers that agents face in the line of duty.

“FBI special agents risk their lives to protect our country,” O’Hare said, “and the loss of these agents is devastating to the entire FBI community and to our country.”

According to emergency radio dispatches, the incident began to unfold as law enforcement gathered at the scene before dawn. At 6:13 a.m. Eastern time, fire rescue personnel got its first report of shots being fired. Two minutes later, someone at the scene got on a police radio to report five shooting victims, including an agent shot in the leg.

Neighbors said the suspect was a nuisance who had been reported to the police and to the homeowners association. Residents of the area surrounding Tuesday’s shooting spent the morning dealing with the aftermath, navigating traffic diversions while still processing the tragic news.

Zoraida Fortich, who live across Nob Hill Road from where the shooting took place, said she woke to the sounds of a low-flying helicopter and a swarm of police cars. “I woke up at 6 and I heard police and the helicopter,” she said. “I thought it was a traffic (crash) over here so I came outside and saw all the police.”

She knew how serious it was when she realized traffic had been shut down to the point she could not leave.

“I couldn’t get out of the neighborhood because they blocked Nob Hill,” she said

Dan Carter grabbed his Canon camera with a long lens and his mixed-breed dog, Dee Dee, and headed to the corner to document the moment. “Bless those officers who lost their lives,” he said.

———

Originally published

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