A spokesman for the medical examiner's office in Norfolk, Va., says it could be several weeks before they know how two agents with the FBI's hostage rescue team died during a training accident off Virginia Beach.
Glen McBride confirmed the office is awaiting toxicology reports on both Agent Christopher Lorek and Special Agent Stephen Shaw. Both men, who were a part of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, were on a weeklong training trip in Hampton Roads when they died Friday.
The accident happened on a Military Sealift Command ship the FBI leased from the Navy, reported WAVY-TV, citing a Navy spokesperson. The agents were then airlifted to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where they were pronouced dead.
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. FBI spokesman Paul Bresson also said the cause of the incident is under review.
Navy personnel were not involved in the training exercise.
Lorek, 41, and Shaw, 40, were based in Quantico, Va.
"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."
Lorek 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 boy 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.
Stay with News4 and NBCWashington.com for the latest on this developing story.
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