Christopher Lorek and Stephen Shaw, two FBI agents from an elite counter-terrorism based in Northern Virginia, were killed Friday during a training exercise in Virginia Beach area, the FBI said on Sunday, as reported by The Washington Post.
Lorek and Shaw were part of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team, which is part of the Critical Incident Response Group, based in Quantico.
The FBI said the incident occurred of the coast of Virginia Beach, but no further details were provided as of Monday morning. An FBI spokeswoman said the death did not involve gunfire, and the said in the statement that the cause of the incident was "under review." The accident happened aboard a Military Sealift Command ship that the FBI had leased for training, according to the TV station WAVY, who quoted a Navy spokesman. Lorek and Shaw were brought by helicopter on Friday to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, which is considered the highest-level trauma for the area, a spokesman for Sentara Healthcare said.
Lorek joined the FBI in 1996, and is survived by his wife and two daughters. Shaw, who joined the FBI in 2005, is survived by his wife, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
"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," FBI Director Robert Mueller said.
A 2006 federal report described a key capability of the hostage rescue team as the capacity to "fast-rope," in which an assault team rappels from a helicopter. The report said the technique is particularly useful in assaulting a maritime target because it allows the FBI to place a team aboard a ship quickly.
