Suspect in Maryland Shootings at Mall, Shopping Center, School Arrested; 3 Dead, 3 Hurt

Tordil, a Federal Protective Service employee, shot, killed his estranged wife on Thursday

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Police have charged the man suspected of killing two people and injuring two others at Montgomery County shopping centers on Friday and the fatal shooting of his estranged wife on Thursday in Prince George's County. 

Eulalio Tordil, 62, was arrested Friday afternoon after he was suspected of terrorizing the Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C., for two days.

He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and four counts of use of a handgun in the commission of a felony in connection with the Montgomery County shootings.

A couple of security cameras recorded video of the arrest of a Maryland shooting suspect.

Tordil was charged with first-degree murder and related charges in connection with the fatal shooting of his estranged wife at High Point High School in Prince George's County on Thursday. He’s also charged with assault for shooting the good Samaritan at the school.

Montgomery County police announced his arrest at a press conference on Friday afternoon, the end of a manhunt that forced officials to heighten security at schools and government buildings. 

Tisha Thompson reports on the timeline of the shootings that haunted D.C.’s suburbs in Maryland Thursday and Friday.

Tordil, a Federal Protective Service employee, shot and killed his estranged wife on Thursday when she went to pick up her children from the High Point High School, police say.

Dramatic surveillance video shows officers in unmarked cars swarm Tordil's car and surround the Federal Protective Service employee with guns drawn. 

tordil-mugshot
Maryland shooting suspect Eulalio Tordil.

Earlier Friday, two people were killed and two others were injured in shootings at a mall and a shopping center in Montgomery County, Maryland. Police believed all the shootings are related. They believe the Friday shootings resulted from attempted carjackings.

[NATL] Shootings in Maryland Leave Residents Rattled

The shootings Friday struck fear in the D.C. suburbs. Students and staff at all Montgomery County schools sheltered in place for some time Friday. Lockdowns were in place at other institutions in the area, including Suburban Hospital in Bethesda.

The National Institutes of Health main campus was on "heightened alert," a spokesman said.

In a ghastly coincidence, the shopping center is within sight of the scene of one of the 2002 Beltway sniper shootings, which remain all too fresh in the memory of many people in the D.C. area.

SuspectCarTowed

Two Sets of Shots Ring Out

Police patrolling Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda, Maryland, about 11 a.m. Friday happened upon the shooting scene in the parking lot, police said.

Police said they believe the victims at the mall did not know the shooter. A woman appeared to have been shot first. The gunman shot two men who came to her aid, police said.

Police monitored the Maryland shootings suspect for more than an hour before they got the opportunity to move in and arrest him without incident.

One witness told News4 the woman was walking toward Macy's when a man approached her and asked where she was going. When the woman didn't answer, the suspect reached into his car, pulled out a gun and began firing.

The woman was shot in the shoulder, the witness said.

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"We have no reason to believe the victims knew the suspect," Montgomery County Assistant Chief Darryl McSwain said. "But we are certainly looking at all angles."

Witnesses saw the shooting at a Bethesda, Maryland mall today — and described the chaotic scene to News4’s Chris Gordon.

The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries. One of the men died. The second man was in grave condition Friday afternoon, police said.

As police investigated that scene, they received a 911 call reporting a shooting outside the Giant grocery store on the 13000 block of Connecticut Avenue in Aspen Hill, Maryland, about 8 miles northeast of the mall.

A woman there was shot and killed, police said.

Police have not identified any of the victims.

Watching the Suspect, Making the Arrest

The anxious hours ended when Montgomery County police officers in plainclothes spotted Tordil's car. It was parked in a shopping center across Connecticut Avenue from the shopping center where the second shooting occurred Friday, Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said.

Eulalio Tordil wanted poster

Officers then spotted Tordil himself going from business to business, including into a Boston Market, where he ate, and into a Dunkin' Donuts.

Officers watched Tordil, choosing to surround his car and wait. 

"Knowing that the suspect was armed, knowing that the suspect had made statements about what he intended to do, we needed to make sure the public was safe when we took him into custody," the Montgomery County police chief said. 

"Our fear was that he was armed. Since he had already shot four people, we certainly did not want any other bloodshed here," Manger said. "The plainclothes officers waited until it was safe to take him into custody, and that's what they did."

Sources tells News4 the same gun was used in three Maryland shootings that killed three and injured three others. News4’s Jackie Bensen has new details on the spree that lasted less than 24 hours.

Surveillance video shows Tordil walk to his car with what looks like a bag of ice. He steps into the car, shuts the door and then officers in unmarked cars surround him, bumping the car and effectively forcing him to stay inside. 

Officers took Tordil into custody and drove him away from the scene.

News4 reporter Megan McGrath reports that a woman is dead after a shooting in the Aspen Hill shopping center.

The First Victim?

On Thursday, police believe Tordil shot and killed his estranged wife, Gladys Tordil, and shot and injured a man who tried to help her about 4:40 p.m. Thursday at High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland.

Gladys Tordil, who was 44, was a chemistry teacher at Parkdale High School in Baltimore County, Maryland, the school said in a letter to parents.

"Ms. Tordil was a beloved staff member. Students will be deeply affected by her death," the letter said.

A man arrested in Montgomery County for shooting four people is also suspected of killing his estranged wife the day before at High Point High School in Beltsville, police say. The woman was a teacher at another school and mother of two. News4’s Tracee Wilkins reports how the teachers and students are coping.

The District Court of Maryland for Prince George's County ordered Tordil in March to stay away from his wife, her home, her workplace and High Point High School -- where police said he killed her, court documents show.

Gladys Tordil told the court Eulalio Tordil beat her and sexually and physically abused two children. In 2010, he slapped her so hard her glasses broke on her face, she told the court. She had filed for divorce, court documents say.

The court allowed Eulalio Tordil to use his work-issued firearm while he was at work. He was instructed to leave it at work during non-work hours.

Eulalio Tordil is being held without bond. He's due in court Monday. It was not clear if Eulalio Tordil had an attorney.

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