Tragic!
Quantico-Based FBI Agents Killed in Training Accident
Hostage Rescue Team agents died Friday night
Monday, May 20, 2013 | Updated 6:40 AM EDT
Two agents with the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team died in a training accident off Virginia Beach Friday.
FBI spokesman Paul Bresson issued the following statement to NBC News:
"Two FBI Special Agents were tragically killed Friday May 17th during a training exercise off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia. Special Agent Christopher Lorek and Special Agent Stephen Shaw were assigned to the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG). The cause of the incident is under review."
WAVY-TV, citing FBI sources, reported that the accident happened during a training exercise involving a helicopter. The agents were then airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, though it is unclear if the hospital knew the agents were coming there.
The cause of death was not specified, and an investigator for the Norfolk Medical Examiner's Office said that no information would be released until Monday morning. Special Agents Lorek, 41, and Shaw, 40, were based in Quantico, Va. and had gone to Hampton Roads this past week for training.
"We mourn the loss of two brave and courageous men," FBI Director Robert Mueller said in the statement. "Like all who serve on the Hostage Rescue Team, they accept the highest risk each and every day, when training and on operational missions, to keep our nation safe. Our hearts are with their wives, children, and other loved ones who feel their loss most deeply. And they will always be part of the FBI family."
orek joined the FBI in 1996 and is survived by his wife and two daughters, ages 11 and 8. Shaw worked for the FBI for eight years. He is survived by his wife, 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son.
The Hostage Rescue Team is part of the Critical Incident Response Group based at Quantico.
CIRG, an elite hostage rescue team, made headlines earlier this year when they successfully rescued a 5-year-old bot who was being held hostage in an underground bunker in Alabama. Agents killed the boy's captor, Jimmy Lee Dykes, who took the boy from a school bus.
Trained in military tactics and outfitted with combat-style gear and weapons, the group was formed 30 years ago in preparation for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The team is deployed quickly to trouble spots and provides assistance to local FBI offices during hostage situations. It has participated in hostage situations more than 800 times in the U.S. and elsewhere since 1983.
http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Quantico-Based-FBI-Agents-Killed-in-Training-Accident-208068911.html
| 