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Who is Laura Schwartzenberger? FBI agent who specialized in child porn investigations shot dead serving warrant

The shooting occurred at around 6 am as the agents entered an apartment complex in the city of Sunrise, Florida. FBI Director Christopher Wray has paid tribute to the two slain agents

Two FBI agents, Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, were killed and three others injured as they were serving a warrant in South Florida on February 2, 2021. The FBI said the agents were serving a warrant related to a case involving violent crimes against children. As per the reports, the shooting occurred at around 6 am as the agents entered an apartment complex in the city of Sunrise. FBI Director Christopher Wray has paid tribute to Schwartzenberger and Alfin for demonstrating heroism in defense of their country.

Videos and photos of the FBI agents being taken to the medical examiner’s office with an honor guard accompanying them surfaced online. In the released video, the deceased agent’s body is seen covered with an American flag. In a statement released to the media, Wray talked about Schwartzenberger, 43, and Alfin, 36. Wray said they were shot and killed in the line of duty while executing a federal court-ordered search warrant. He added, “Every day, FBI Special Agents put themselves in harm's way to keep the American people safe. Special Agent Alfin and Special Agent Schwartzenberger exemplified heroism today in defense of their country. The FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful for their bravery.”

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Who was Laura Schwartzenberger?

Schwartzenberger had been working with the Federal Bureau since 2005. She was part of the violent crimes against children squad in the F.B.I.’s Miami field office. As a part of the Bureau’s cybercrimes program, she was assigned to the Innocent Images National Initiative, which is established to combat cybercrimes against children. In 2018, Schwartzenberger spoke to a local TV station to warn of “sextortion” scams involving scam or con artists who would falsely claim they have hacked into webcams and then extort the victim for money. Schwartzenberger was the lead agent in a sextortion case that led to the arrest of a Hialeah man who posed as a teenage female to con over 300 boys to send him sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves.

Schwartzenberger wrote in a criminal affidavit in 2020 that she has conducted and assisted in several child exploitation investigations and have executed search warrants that have led to the capture of child pornography. She had also visited Rockway Middle School in Westchester, Florida, to talk to children and make them aware of online safety and cybercrime. In 2020, Schwartzenberger spoke at the school again. A tweet from February 2020 reads, “Great to have FBI Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger join us to present to our 6th Grade Legal Studies & Forensic Science students about online safety and cyber crimes!”

Meanwhile, Special Agent Alfin had been with the agency since 2009. He was behind the 2015 arrest of a Naples, Florida, man, who ran the world’s largest child pornography website that had more than 150,000 users from around the world.

Tribute to Laura Schwartzenberger and Daniel Alfin

After the news surfaced that Schwartzenberger and Alfin have been shot during an active line of duty, several took to Twitter to pay their heartfelt condolences. One user wrote: "My prayers are with the families and colleagues of @FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger. The agents gave their lives in service of our nation." National Fraternal Order of Police wrote, "Blessed Are The Peacemakers Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger U.S. Department of Justice - Federal Bureau of Investigation EOW: Tuesday, February 2, 2021 #EnoughIsEnough #OfficerDown #EOW #ThinBlueLine." FBI Boston wrote, "#FBI Boston offers our condolences to the family and friends of Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger, who were killed in the line of duty this morning. They exemplified heroism in defense of their country, and we honor their ultimate sacrifice."