CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) – Loved ones and colleagues are paying tribute to an FBI agent from South Florida killed in the line of duty, as they begin the difficult process of saying goodbye.
A steady stream of families and members of law enforcement were seen going into the Coral Springs funeral home where a viewing for Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger was held.
7News cameras captured loved ones hugging each other outside the funeral home, Friday night.
Mourners said the the 16-year veteran of the bureau was a devoted wife and mother who served with passion.
“Now we have a family that’s motherless, and we have a family that’s fatherless,” said William Beller with the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation.
Retired Broward Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Giuseppe Weller said he served search warrants with her.
“We’ve done cases together where she would come down to the office, and we would go down to the FBI,” he said.
Authorities said Schwartzenberger was serving a warrant Tuesday morning at the Sunrise home of a David Huber, the subject of a crimes against children investigation.
Huber reportedly watched the agents through a doorbell camera, then ambushed and fatally shot Schwartzenberger and FBI Special Agent Daniel Alfin. She was 43.
7News cameras on Friday captured bullet holes riddling the front door and a side window of Huber’s house.
Days after the shootout that left three others injured, help from community organizations is streaming in to help the families left behind.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation has offered to pay off the families‘ mortgages.
“We have to take care of these families that are left behind,” said Tunnels to Towers Foundation CEO Frank Siler. “They’re out there giving them our freedoms and our safe streets.”
Schwartzenberger leaves behind a husband and two boys. Alfin is survived by his wife and child.
Services for both of them will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium this weekend.
- Related: Funeral processions for slain FBI agents expected to impact traffic in parts of Broward, Miami-Dade
Funeral processions to the Hard Rock Stadium are scheduled to take place Saturday and Sunday afternoons before each memorial service. Officials advise drivers to expect heavy traffic in the area and plan accordingly.
“Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson will lead the delegation to both Special Agent Laura Schwartzenberger’s memorial service on Saturday and Special Agent Daniel Alfin’s memorial service on Sunday,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Neighbor Dennis Murphy came to the scene of the shooting with a more modest contribution: flowers.
“It felt so bad, and [I’m] distraught about the whole thing. It’s so sad. It’s really sad,” he said.
“A lot of times we’re unheard, unseen, vigilant, but we’re there,” said Beller, “whether it be doing multiple investigations, such as my brother and sister were doing in child porn. They’re beautiful people.”
The viewing for Schwartzenberger wrapped up Friday night.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered flags lowered to half-staff this weekend in the agents’ honor at the Broward County Courthouse, the State Capitol and at the municipalities in South Florida where the agents lived.
The Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association Foundation is raising money to help the families of Alfin and Schwartzenberger. If you would like to make a donation, click here.
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