Killed were Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger. The issue of the warrant is also dead, the FBI said.
The FBI did not say much about the warrant, unless it was ordered by a federal court in connection with a case of violent crimes against children.
Sunrise police said the shooting took place at the apartment complex at 6:04 am. Details on the exact sequence of events have not been released, but here is a summary of the main known developments:
• The person the police were looking for had barricaded himself, said Sunrise police spokeswoman Otishia Browning-Smith.
• The suspect opened fire, said Special Agent Responsible George Piro. Details of who shot first, or what led to the shooting, were not immediately available.
• Alfin, 36, and Schwartzenberger, 43, were shot dead, the FBI said.
• The warrant issue was dead after the shooting, the FBI said. Piro said Tuesday afternoon that he did not know how that person died.
The suspect must have monitored a camera before shooting agents, said a police source familiar with the shooting.
“He must have shot them through the door,” said the source on condition of anonymity. “There was no other way.”
In order for the injured agents to be removed, a SWAT vehicle had to collide with the building to provide cover, the same source said. “There were bullet holes everywhere … It was a mess,” said the source.
The suspect’s name will not be released until the closest relatives are notified, Piro said.
The FBI said its Inspection Division is investigating the shooting.
Alfin’s work helped lead to hundreds of arrests for child pornography
Alfin and Schwartzenberger worked at the FBI’s Miami office at a unit that investigates crimes against children. This involves crimes, including online predators, sexual abuse, kidnappings and violent attacks.
And both leave behind spouses and at least one child.
Alfin, a New York native, joined the FBI office in Albany in 2009 before coming to the Miami office in 2017.
And he once played a critical role in an FBI investigation that led to hundreds of arrests for child pornography, the FBI said.
In that case, Alfin investigated an online network called Playpen, through which users could “communicate anonymously through ‘hidden services’ websites,” the FBI said in a May 2017 statement.
The investigation led to the arrest and conviction of the man who created the network in 2014 and the removal of the website itself, the FBI said.
But it also launched “thousands of follow-up investigations”, making it a case “unprecedented in scope and reach,” said the FBI.
In May 2017, the investigation resulted in the arrest of at least 350 people based in the United States, prosecutions against 25 child pornography producers, the arrest of 51 “active attackers” and the identification or rescue of 55 American children, the FBI said.
Abroad, the investigation also resulted in 548 arrests and the identification or rescue of 296 sexually abused children, the FBI said.
“It’s the same with any criminal violation: as they get smarter, we adapt, we find them,” he said. “It is a game of cat and mouse, except that it is not a game. Children are being abused and it is our job to prevent this.”
According to federal court documents unrelated to the 2017 case, Alfin said he was “recognized as an expert in federal courts in areas related to computer forensics and investigation of child exploitation crimes”.
The documents add that he testified on more than 20 occasions as a witness, in more than 10 federal jurisdictions.
He was married and had a son, the FBI said.
Schwartzenberger has spent years working to keep children safe
Schwartzenberger, a Colorado native, has been an agent since 2005 and moved from the FBI office in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 11 years ago, to the Miami office.
She has worked on child crime cases for more than seven years, the FBI said.
“As an FBI agent, Laura taught our students every year about the dangers of social media and more. She always said, ‘I feel like coming here and talking about difficult things means that I won’t see you at my end.’
“With their presentations, students would gain knowledge about online safety, cyberbullying and experience the process of responding to evidence from an FBI agent.
“She always answered all students’ questions directly with care, but with firmness, to always remind them of the real world.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho wrote on Tuesday that Schwartzenberger “sacrificed his life to protect youth”.
She leaves her husband and two children.
Service fatalities of FBI agents in shootings are rare
Tuesday’s shooting marks the first time since 2008 that an FBI agent has been shot dead on the job.
How the FBI and other officers responded
President Joe Biden expressed his condolences to the victims’ families on Tuesday.
“My heart hurts for families,” he said. “They put their lives at risk and it is a hell of a price to pay.”
FBI director Christopher Wray said that Alfin and Schwartzenberger “exemplify heroism … in defense of their country”.
“The FBI will always honor its final sacrifice and will be forever grateful for its bravery,” said Wray.
South Florida prosecutor Ariana Fajardo Orshan said that “the tragic events remind us of the bravery of federal agents, who risk their lives to protect our communities and our country.”
“We must never forget this, just as we will never forget the final sacrifice made by Special Agents Alfin and Schwartzenberger,” says the US attorney’s statement.
The FBI Agents’ Association also offered condolences.
“These agents were working to protect the most vulnerable in our society. The FBIAA stands with the agents’ families and promises our support for them during this difficult period,” said FBIAA President Brian O’Hare.
CNN’s Josh Campbell, Eric Levenson, Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt contributed to this report.