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The two FBI agents killed in a Florida shooting were dedicated to preventing crimes against children
Rosa Flores Sara Weisfeldt
CNN —
FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, who died in a Sunrise, Florida shootout Tuesday, devoted their careers to investigating crimes against children.
The two were killed at an apartment complex executing a federal search warrant. Three other agents were wounded, two of whom were transported to the hospital and have since been released. The suspect in the shooting died at the scene and the FBI has said the investigation is ongoing.
Miami FBI Special Agent in Charge George Piro called the shooting and the loss of Alfin and Schwartzenberger, “a very dark day for the FBI.”
The agents were known for their exemplary efforts in the field, curbing child abuse with their investigatory work and educating students to the perils of sex crimes.
“Our chosen profession is fraught with danger. Today this grim reality has taken two of our best from our family,” Piro said.
Alfin played a key role in an ‘unprecedented’ child exploitation investigation
Alfin, 36, was a New York native and started his FBI career in the bureau’s Albany, New York office in 2009. He was assigned to the Miami office in 2017, investigating crimes against children.
According to federal court documents, Alfin said he was “recognized as an expert in federal court in areas relating to computer forensics and the investigation of child exploitation crimes.”
The documents added that he had testified on more than 20 occasions as a witness, across more than 10 federal jurisdictions.
Alfin played a critical role in a massive investigation that led to hundreds of child pornography arrests, according to a 2017 FBI statement.
Officials at the time stated, “The case – and the thousands of follow-up investigations it has launched – is unprecedented in its scope and reach.”
Law enforcement gather near the scene of a shooting that wounded several FBI agents in Sunrise, Fla., Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021.
Two FBI agents from crimes against children unit killed and three agents wounded in South Florida shootout
The case involved “Playpen,” described by authorities as a “highly sophisticated, global enterprise dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children, organized via a members-only website that operated on the dark web.”
Alfin and his team’s investigation resulted in the arrests of at least 350 people based in the US, the prosecutions of 25 producers of child pornography, the arrests of 51 “hands-on abusers” and the identification or rescue of 55 American children, the FBI said.
Abroad, the investigation led to 548 arrests and the identification or rescue of 296 sexually abused children, the FBI said.
Alfin is quoted in an 2017 FBI statement about the case.
“It’s the same with any criminal violation: As they get smarter, we adapt, we find them,” he said. “It’s a cat-and-mouse game, except it’s not a game. Kids are being abused, and it’s our job to stop that.”
In 2018, Alfin was honored as part of the team involved in the case, and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein spoke warmly of the award recipients.
“Today’s honorees earned the esteem of their colleagues. But most importantly, they earned the gratitude of our fellow citizens – the people whose communities you made safer, whose lives you improved, and whose trust you rewarded. Today, we pause to honor and recognize a small portion of your work,” Rosenstein said.
Alfin is survived by his wife and one child, the FBI said.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/04/us/fbi-agents-killed-florida-shooting/index.html
By Travis Caldwell, Rosa Flores and Sara Weisfeldt, CNN
Published 3:42 AM EST, Thu February 4, 2021