Two FBI agents shot deadwhile serving warrant in one of the bureau’s deadliest shootings

Police officers block the street where two FBI agents were killed in Sunrise, Florida

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Two FBI agents were shot dead and three others injured while serving a warrant against a suspected paedophile on Tuesday in one of the deadliest shootings in the bureau’s history.

The shootings took place in a middle class neighbourhood near Fort Lauderdale, Florida when agents attempted to investigate a man suspected of possessing child pornography.

FBI director Christopher Wray identified the two victims as special agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger. "The FBI will always honour their ultimate sacrifice and will be forever grateful for their bravery," he said.

Two of the wounded agents were taken to hospitals to be treated and were in stable condition, said FBI Miami Special Agent Michael Leverock. The third did not require hospitalisation.

The gunman, who has not been named, also died during the standoff after he barricaded himself inside a home for several hours, according to Mr Leverock. Local media outlets reported the suspect had shot himself.

Police on the scene of the standoff

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The search warrant sought evidence in connection with suspected possession of child pornography, the FBI Agents Association said.

The authorities were carrying out a routine search warrant to seize the suspect’s computer at 6am on Tuesday, after the FBI traced the suspect’s IP address, sources told the Miami Herald.

In a statement, the FBI said the agents were executing a "federal court-ordered search warrant in furtherance of a violent crimes against children case".

The White House said Joe Biden had been briefed by Homeland Security officials about the shooting and called the incident "a terrible tragedy".

The shooting is thought to be one of the deadliest in the FBI’s history and the first to lead to the death of an agent since 2008. It followed a 1986 incident in Miami where two agents were killed and five others wounded during the pursuit of two violent bank robbers, who were also killed in the exchange.

More recently, two agents were killed and a third wounded in Washington DC in 1994, when a man entered the city’s police headquarters and opened fire.