A FILIPINO federal security officer suspected of fatally shooting three and wounding three others was arrested Friday, May 6, the Associated Press reported.
Eulalio Tordil, 62, is linked to shooting victims at mall and supermarket on Friday, less than 24 hours after he allegedly shot his estranged wife, Gladys Tordil, 44, in the parking lot of High Point High School in Beltsville, Maryland.
His wife was at the school to pick up her children when Tordil shot her multiple times in her car, Rappler reported. He also shot a bystander who attempted to aid his wife.
No students were reported to have been shot at the school.
Police in Prince George’s County have charged Tordil with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and other related charges. On Saturday, Montgomery County police said the gunman is being held without bond for the charges, for which he was set to have a bail review on Monday, May 9.
Tordil, an employee of the Federal Protective Service since 1997, which provides security at federal properties, was taken into custody near the supermarket, the last shooting scene, authorities told the Associated Press (AP).
He was stripped of his badge, credentials and weapon, and assigned to administrative duties in march following a protective order issued against him when his wife said he had threatened to harm her if she left him, according to The Washington Post. The order stated that Tordil subjected their children to “intense-military-like discipline,” including pushups and detention in a dark closet.
After allegedly shooting his wife on Thursday, Tordil evaded authorities and shut off his cellphone.
Prior to his Friday arrest, plainclothes officers followed Tordil for an hour gaging the right time to conduct the arrest. Earlier on, he threatened to “commit suicide by cop” and authorities wanted to ensure the public was safe when he was arrested, according to the AP.
“Knowing his behavior today, knowing of statements he made in the past, we did not want to endanger anyone and have a shootout when we took him into custody and that’s why he was taken into custody the way he was,” said Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger, the news agency reported.
Tordil was sighted when he returned to his car, at which point officers surrounded him.
“He jus got out of his car,” Jason Palmer, a private investigator who lives close by and began searching for Tordil himself, told the AP. “He gave up. They pinned him in.”
Montgomery Assistant Chief Russ Hamill said those shot in Montgomery appear to have been random targets that stemmed from Tordil’s attempted carjackings, according to the Post.
Students and teachers at Parkdale High School, where Gladys Tordil was a chemistry teacher known for encouraging students to be ambitious and sharing home-cooked food with her colleagues, were devastated by the shootings.
A new Filipino teacher who began working at Parkdale this year, Grace Mary Relador, told the Post that Tordil was an excellent teacher who made her feel welcome at the new school.
Another fellow teacher, Mary Alvarenga-Hercules, told the Post students loved Tordil.
“They don’t know how they’re going to go back inside of her classroom,” she said. (Agnes Constante / AJPress)
