On Tuesday morning, while executing a search warrant in Sunrise, Florida, in furtherance of a violent crimes against children case, FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin, 36, and Laura Schwartzenberger, 43, were killed in the line of duty. They were mortally wounded by gunfire from the target of the investigation, who reportedly monitored their approach via a doorbell camera. Three other FBI personnel were wounded by the assailant, who has been reported to be deceased.

Both agents are survived by spouses and children. Their martyrdom has left my former agency reeling. Hazards are certainly part of the job. Depriving dangerous folk of their freedoms; bringing them into custody and arranging their meeting with the justice system is a business fraught with peril. Yet when law enforcement officers are slain, it still shocks the senses. Heart-wrenching news like this from the greater Miami area is especially sobering for the FBI family. In 1986, the cold-blooded murders of Special Agents Benjamin Grogan and Jerry Dove by two serial bank robbers prompted the typically resistant-to-change bureau to reevaluate its training and abandon its .38 and .357 revolvers, ultimately adopting higher-capacity pistols for issuance to new agents. Details of the shootout became part of analytical training practicums.