Washington Beltway Shootings: 4 Shot, 2 Killed in Mall and Grocery; Federal Officer in Custody

BETHESDA, MD — A federal officer was captured Friday, a day after police say he shot to death his estranged wife in Beltsville, and investigators said they "have reason to believe" the same man is connected to two fatal shootings earlier in the day at the Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda and Giant Foods in Silver Spring.

Of the two bystanders wounded in the Montgomery Mall shooting, one man is in critical condition and one woman has non life-threatening injuries.

The accused shooter is Eulalio Sevilla Tordil, a federal law officer accused of killing his estranged wife Thursday at High Point High School in Beltsville.

Tordil, 62, of Adelphi, was taken to the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit Saturday and formally charged in the two Montgomery County shooting incidents. He is being held without bond and will have bond review on Monday.

Tordil has been charged with the following:

• Two counts of first-degree murder
• Two counts of attempted first-degree murder
• Four counts of the use of a handgun in the commission of a felony

The suspect went into several businesses in the Aspen Hill area near the Giant grocery store Friday as officers kept him under surveillance.

Police were concerned Tordil was armed as he strolled from store to store. Officials held off arresting him until Tordil walked back to his car.

“Officers had the well-being of the public in mind … we did not want to endanger anyone and have a shootout when we took him into custody," said Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger.

Prince George’s County Police late Friday afternoon charged Tordil with first-degree murder and related charges in connection with the fatal shooting of his estranged wife. He’s also charged with assault for shooting the Good Samaritan at the school who tried to intervene in the couple's argument.

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Detectives are investigating a possible link between Tordil and Friday's two shootings in Montgomery County.

Authorities said about 3 p.m. that Tordil was taken into custody without incident in Aspen Hill, reportedly across the street from the Giant store shooting. He had previously made threats that he wanted to hurt others -- police have not said who those targets might have been -- and wanted to commit "suicide by cops," forcing police to kill him.

Chief Manger said at a press conference that plainclothes officers at the Giant store shooting scene spotted a silver vehicle that matched the description of the High Point High School shooting from the night before. Tordil was spotted at the Dunkin Donuts in Aspen Hill and had gone into the Boston Market nearby to buy food.

Tordill had lived in the Aspen Hill area at one time, and authorities said he may have come back to the area because it is familiar.

A gun authorities believe was used in the three shootings was found in the vehicle when Tordil was arrested.

SEE ALSO: High School Slaying: Victim's Husband Subject of Stayaway Order

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy said that Maryland law says the suspect will go before a commissioner, and he will be held in custody. Tordil will be arraigned in Rockville District Court Monday afternoon.

Prince George’s County Police Chief Hank Stawinski said his department has worked nonstop to find Tordil since he allegedly gunned down his wife as she waited to pick her daughters up from school.

“I’m very sorry to come before the community as additional violence has occurred. It’s tragic that we were not able to intervene before other victims were harmed,” Stawinski said.

Undercover officers from the Prince George's Police Department were checking addresses where Tordil might have been in case he was going to harm others or hide out. But police didn’t find him before there was more bloodshed.

The identities of the Montgomery County homicide victims will be released once family members are notified. The surviving victims will not be identified at this time since they are witnesses, police said. Investigators do not know if there is any connection between Friday’s victims and Tordil.

Anyone with information about the shootings or Tordil is asked to contact Montgomery County Police at 240-773-5070.

Shelter in Place Oders Lifted

A shelter in place order has been lifted for all of Montgomery County Public Schools and school dismissals will continue on time.

During the manhunt, the National Institutes of Health warned employees to be alert on all campuses; and all Montgomery County Recreation facilities were on lockdown with shelter in place orders. A cautionary lockdown at Suburban Hospital has also been lifted.

Friday is a busy day for Montgomery County high schools, in particular, with proms scheduled and AP exams being held.

Timeline of Shootings in Bethesda, Silver Spring

About half an hour after the mall shootings, a woman was fatally shot at the Giant Food in Silver Spring. Police are exploring a connection between the two incidents.

The police department said officers found three shooting victims at the mall at 7101 Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda: two males and one female. That shooting was reported at 11:13 a.m.

Authorities have identified Eulalio Tordil — the suspect from Thursday's shooting at High Point High School — as a person of interest in the mall shootings. Tordil is a police officer for the Federal Protective Service and Department of Homeland Security and is known to be armed.

Students and staff at nearby Walter Johnson High School, Tilden Middle School and Bells Mill Elementary School in Potomac were told to shelter in place while police searched the area for the suspect, FOX DC reports. That was expanded later to all the county's schools before Tordil's arrest.

NBC Washington reports that a woman was confronted by a man outside Macy's, and the man asked her where she was going. When she didn't answer, the man pulled a gun from a car and shot the woman in the shoulder. A witness told the TV station that the woman didn't appear to know the gunman, the situation seemed to be an ambush.

Assistant Montgomery Police Chief Darryl McSwain said at a press conference that there is no reason to believe the victims knew the shooter.

There was a confrontation in the parking lot, two bystanders who came to the woman’s aid were then shot, investigators believe.

High Point High School Shooting

McSwain said police are checking into whether there is a link to Thursday's fatal shooting at High Point High School in Beltsville, where Tordil reportedly killed his estranged wife and fled.

Prince George's County Police say the suspect shot his wife, Gladys Tordil, 44, several times after an argument. She died at the scene Thursday.

Officers found Gladys Tordil was fatally shot in her SUV. A man who tried to intervene in the couple's argument was also shot and taken to a hospital. His injury is not considered life-threatening, police say.

Investigators say Eulalio Tordil followed his wife onto school property when she went to pick up her children, who attend High Point High School. Tordil got out of his car and confronted Gladys Tordil as she sat in her vehicle.

Authorities say Eulalio Tordil first shot the good Samaritan, and then Gladys Tordil multiple times.

Court records and social media say Gladys Tordil was a chemistry teacher at Parkdale High School in Riverdale. She is survived by two daughters, Grace and Nikki Tordil, who are both seniors at High Point and plan to attend college in the fall.

Friends of the victim have set up a GoFundMe fundraiser online to help the surviving girls continue their education.

Giant Store Shooting on Friday

At 11:50 a.m., police received a report of shots fired at the Aspen Hill Giant Food store, 13781 Connecticut Ave. in Silver Spring.

Authorities have not said if they believe there is any connection to the mall shooting.

The grocery store is about 9 miles from the mall, where the first shooting was reported.

Montgomery County Fire and EMS crews are treating several injured people and taking them to area hospitals, according to spokesman Pete Piringer.

The shooting happened in the parking lot outside the Macy's store at the mall, according to FOX DC.

Patch will update this breaking news story.

»Photo of suspected Westfield Montgomery Mall and Giant Food store shooter Eulalio Tordil; screenshot from NBC Washington of two shooting scenes in Montgomery County and Tordil being handcuffed