FBI Identifies the Gunman Who Killed 2 Agents in Deadly Florida Shootout
Officials have identified David Lee Huber as the suspect in a shooting that killed two Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents in Sunrise, Florida on Tuesday.
The two FBI agents were killed while executing a search warrant in a child pornography case. Three other agents were also wounded.
The FBI confirmed that the shooting suspect was David Lee Huber. Authorities said it was Huber who engaged the FBI agents in a gun battle when they arrived at the 55-year-old suspect's apartment.
After the shootout, David Lee Huber allegedly killed himself. On Wednesday, the Broward Medical Examiner's Office confirmed that the suspect's body was already in the morgue.
The Water Terrace apartments, the complex where the shooting took place, was still collaborating with law enforcement officers as of Wednesday. Members of the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Broward Sheriff's Office; and Sunrise police were among those who immediately went to the complex to investigate the case.
Jorge Castillo, 76, said that nothing bad has ever happened in the five years they live in the apartment complex.
"To have somebody here the way this person was makes it very difficult, because you don't know who your neighbor is," Castillo said in a New York Times report.
Citing a source not authorized to comment publicly, USA Today reported that authorities are now looking at whether the suspect's apartment was rigged with cameras.
Catching the agents by surprise, authorities believed that David Lee Huber had spotted the approaching FBI agents and proceeded to release high-velocity bullets through the door.
Reports showed that David Lee Huber was a divorced father of two and worked as a systems engineer. He was also reportedly a pilot and a former mortgage broker.
Related story: Two FBI Agents in Florida Killed in Deadly Shootout Before Gunman Takes Own Life
Shootout at David Lee Huber's Apartment
The shootout happened at around 6 a.m. in a middle-class neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale near the Everglades.
Julius McLymont said the gunfire erupted with about four shots. McLymont lives near the Water Terrace apartment complex where the suspect barricaded himself.
The witness said he heard five more shots after two minutes and when he looked over his fence, police cars and an ambulance rushed in, according to a CBS Local report.
He also said that was when he saw officers working on someone lying on the ground before they loaded the person into an ambulance. A SWAT team was reported to appear next with officers wearing riot gears.
FBI Director Christopher Wray identified the two slain agents as Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger. They were both in the specialization of investigation of crimes against children. Wray said that Alfin and Schwartzenberger showed heroism in defense of their country.
"The FBI will always honor their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful for their bravery," Wray said in a report.
Meanwhile, the FBI director added that the two hospitalized agents were in stable condition as of Tuesday. The third FBI agent was treated at the scene.
President Joe Biden has expressed his condolences to the slain agents, saying that his heart aches for the families of the departed.
"To put their lives on the line, it's a hell of a price to pay," Biden said in a report.
The loss of the two agents on Tuesday marked the deadliest day for the FBI since 2013, when two agents died during training exercises for the bureau's elite Hostage Rescue Team.
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