MIAMI GARDENS, Florida (AP) – A murdered FBI agent was remembered for her strength, infectious laughter, love for her family and commitment to protecting children during a funeral service on Saturday.
Agents Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, and Daniel Alfin, 36, were shot dead on Tuesday while doing a search warrant at the Broward County home for a child pornography suspect. The service for Schwartzenberger was performed at the Miami Dolphins football stadium. A separate service for Alfin will be held there on Sunday.
“There are no good words to make sense of a loss like this, nor are there good words for a day like Tuesday or today,” said FBI director Christopher Wray. “There is a weight on our hearts and a burden unlike any other, because there is nothing more devastating to the FBI family than the loss of an agent in the line of duty.”
Schwartzenberger’s coffin was covered with an American flag when he was taken to the field while the pipers played. The flag was later folded into a triangle and presented to his family by Wray. She received a 21-shot salute during the service.
“Laura chose to be part of a team that spends its days in darkness facing the worst parts of humanity. It is a job with high stress, high emotional impact and high stress, ”said Wray of the agent, who was originally from Pueblo, Colorado. “Laura never stopped. She talked to anyone about protecting children from online predators. “
Federal government officials who attended the service with Wray were Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson and President Joe Biden’s internal security adviser, Dr. Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall.
“During her 15 years as an FBI special agent, Laura Schwartzenberger was selfless, tireless, courageous and committed to protecting some of society’s most vulnerable: her children,” Wilkinson said in a statement.
Sherwood-Randall also praised Schwartzenberger’s service to the nation, calling her “an American heroine who has dedicated her life to keeping our country, our citizens and especially our children safe”.
The shootings marked one of the bloodiest days in FBI history in South Florida and one of the deadliest nationally, according to the FBI website. Suspect David Huber, 55, killed himself before being arrested.