By Allan Lengel

FBI Christopher said “we’re all heartbroken” over Tuesday’s deaths of two FBI agents and the wounding of three others. The shootings happened while serving a search warrant in a child pornography cases in Sunrise, Fla., a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale.

“Days like this are among the darkest days we face in the FBI,” Wray said in a statement. “We’ve lost two of our very own. We’re all heartbroken – particularly our colleagues in Miami who are reeling from this unthinkable loss.

The suspected reportedly killed himself.

The FBI Agents Association President Brian O’Hare also issued a statement:

“These Agents were working to protect the most vulnerable in our society. FBIAA stands with the Agents’ families and pledges our support to them during this difficult time,” O’Hare said. “FBI Special Agents risk their lives to protect our country, and the loss of these Agents is devastating to the entire FBI community and to our country. FBIAA hopes that all Americans will join us in our efforts to support these FBI families in this time of tragedy.”

Read Christopher Wray’s full statement below:

It’s with a very heavy heart that I’m writing to tell you that this morning, Special Agent Daniel Alfin and Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger of the Miami Division were shot and killed in the line of duty. They were executing a federal court-ordered search warrant in a violent crimes against children investigation in Sunrise, Florida. Three other agents were shot and wounded, two of whom suffered injuries requiring hospital care, but both are now in stable condition. The third injured agent did not require hospitalization. The shooter is deceased.

Days like this are among the darkest days we face in the FBI. We’ve lost two of our very own. We’re all heartbroken – particularly our colleagues in Miami who are reeling from this unthinkable loss. All of us across the FBI, in offices and divisions who worked with the special agents, and colleagues who have never had the chance to meet them, are all trying to also come to terms with this tragic loss. And yet, our grief cannot compare to that of the families of these two special agents. Today, they’ve lost the people who meant the very most to them.

As many of you have heard me say, it takes an incredibly special person to answer the call and do the heroic work of an FBI special agent.To sacrifice self for service. This morning, Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent Schwartzenberger left home to carry out the mission they signed up for – to keep the American people safe. It will take us a long time to process the grief that we all feel for the loss of our own. But we’ll be forever grateful for their commitment and their dedication – for their last full measure of devotion to the people they served and defended. We will always honor their ultimate sacrifice. And we’ll continue to stand by our FBI Family, and the families of these special agents, in the days to come, bringing every resource we can to get through this together.

We’ll continue to share more as we’re able to.

By Steve Neavling

Five FBI agents were shot and two were killed while serving a search warrant at a home in Sunrise, Fla., a suburb of Ft. Lauderdale, on Tuesday morning, The Miami Herald reports. 

The suspected gunman barricaded himself in the home before fatally shooting himself. 

The suspect was accused of possessing child pornography.

The shooting broke out around 6 a.m., when FBI agents with the child-porn squad arrive at the home to execute the search warrant.  

“Two wounded agents were transported to hospital and are in stable condition,” the FBI said in a statement, without addressing the condition of the third agent.

Details remained murky at 10:30 a.m.

*Update* 8:53am: Neighborhoods along Nob Hill Rd, between NW 44th St and W Oakland Park Blvd. are currently unable to leave their communities due to the traffic shutdown on Nob Hill Rd. We will update as soon as traffic opens up. Thank you for your understanding.

— Sunrise Police FL (@SunrisePoliceFL) February 2, 2021

By Steve Neavling

Monday marked the 65th anniversary of Charles L. Gittens becoming the first black special agent for the Secret Service. 

“February 1 carries special meaning to the men and women of the United States Secret Service,” the agency wrote in a tribute to Gittens.

Gittens spent 23 years rising through the ranks of the Secret Service, first serving in Charlotte, N.C., before moving on to posts in New York City, San Juan, Puerto Rico and the Washington D.C. Field Office, where he became special agent in charge in 1971.

Gittens continued to break racial barriers. In 1977, Gittens became the first African American to serve as the agency’s deputy assistant director of the Office of Inspection, a position he held until he retired in 1979. 

During his career, he protected Presidents Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B .Johnson, in addition to Vice President Hubert Humphrey. He also participated in notable undercover investigations and was a member of “The Special Detail,” which was tasked with curtailing counterfeiting actives in the U.S. and abroad. 

“Looking back, when I enlisted in the Service, I knew everybody,” Gittens later said. “Knew every agent personally. It is a lot different now. We have steadily expanded, both in size itself or in the area of our responsibility. But the Service is a lot like home, even now. And I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

Gittens died on July 27, 2011 at the age of 82. 

At the time of his death, then-Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan said, “The passing of Deputy Assistant Director Gittens represents a sad day for the Secret Service family. Mr. Gittens’ legacy of accomplishments will live on with all those who knew him, as well as all of us who benefitted from the path he created and standards he set as the first African American agent in the Secret Service. His contributions to this agency and this country cannot be overstated.” 

By Steve Neavling

Donald M. Voiret, who most recently was serving as the FBI’s attaché to London, has been named special agent in charge of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office. 

Voiret became an FBI special agent in 2002, primarily working counterterrorism cases at the Providence Resident Agency in Rhode Island, under the Boston Field Office. 

In 2007, Voiret began serving as supervisory special agent at the Counterterrorism Division at FBI headquarters. 

Voiret transferred to the Washington Field Office in 2010, serving as a supervisor of the Extraterritorial Counterterrorism Squad.

In 2013, Voiret was promoted to assistant inspector in the Inspection Division, which conducts internal investigations and special inquiries and reviews operational performance and use of enforcement authorities across all investigative programs.

In 2015, Voiret was promoted to assistant special agent in charge of the Salt Lake City Field Office, where he oversaw the cyber, counterintelligence, and intelligence programs covering Utah, Idaho, and Montana.

In 2017, Voiret became inspector in the Inspection Division. A year later he was named legal attaché in the London office. 

Before joining the FBI, Voiret worked as a law enforcement officer for 16 years in Florida. He graduated from Northwood University in West Palm Beach, Fla.