The incident took place outside a residence in Fort Lauderdale during an attempt to serve a search warrant to Kenneth Wilk, a child porn suspect.
Wilk is known to have been roommates with a registered sex offender who was arrested three years earlier for the distribution of child porn over the Internet.
The two deputies were part of the child porn task force Law Enforcement Against Child Harm. Wilk was being investigated for the sexual exploitation of children and related activities. According to reports, it was part of an undercover investigation targeting child predators on America Online.
A Broward County Sheriff's Department spokesperson said the shooting began at 8 a.m. shortly after the two deputies asked Wilk to come outside of his apartment to receive the warrant. This was the third altercation between Wilk and officers attempting to deliver a child porn-related search warrant.
Wilk reportedly opened fire on the two officers with a high-powered weapon, shooting Detective Todd Fatta fatally in the chest. Deputy Angelo Cedeno was shot in the hand and shoulder. Return fire occurred between back-up officers and Wilk was finally taken into custody.
The spokesperson said that Cedeno, the surviving officer, has been hospitalized and is currently in stable condition.