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MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. - A man wanted in connection to two deadly shootings in Montgomery County on Friday in addition to the shooting death of his estranged wife outside a Prince George's County high school on Thursday night was arrested. Officers surrounded a silver Hyundai Elantra in the parking lot of an Aspen Hill Kohl's store, and the suspect, 62-year-old Eulalio Tordil was inside.
FOX 5's Alexandra Limon was live on the air when police began rushing across the street from the parking lot of a Giant food store, where one of two shootings took place on Friday morning. Limon's crew was quickly moved away, but moments later, things settled-- and Tordil was in custody. (WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE)
Shortly thereafter, Montgomery County Police confirmed that a suspect was indeed in custody, and it was Tordil. He was arrested in the parking lot of the same shopping center where the D.C. Beltway sniper attacks began. The first shot was fired to the Michaels craft store, which is still there, on October 2, 2002. Investigators said Tordil ate at the same restaurant, a Boston Market, where John Allen Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo ate.
Earlier Friday, two people were killed in two separate shootings in Montgomery County. The first happened outside Montgomery Mall, and the second outside the Aspen Hill Giant grocery store.
MONTGOMERY MALL SHOOTING
On Friday morning at around 11:13 am, an off-duty officer called dispatch and other officers that shots were fired during a confrontation outside of Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, and two men and a woman were wounded. One of the men died, and the second man is in critical condition at Suburban Hospital. The female victim is also at the hospital in stable condition with non-life threatening injuries.
Police said they believed two of the people who were shot at that scene were hit when they came to the aid of the first victim.
Westfield Montgomery released the following statement regarding the shootings after Tordil was arrested:
"There was a shooting this morning in the parking lot of Westfield Montgomery and the suspect immediately fled the scene. We worked closely with Montgomery County PD on site and the center remained open serving as shelter for those who wished to remain inside. We are grateful to local law enforcement for their efforts to secure the site and insure the safety of the community.
All of us in this community are shocked and saddened by these events. We send our heartfelt condolences to the victims of this tragedy and their families.
We encourage you to follow official updates on Montgomery County Police Department."
ASPEN HILL SHOOTING
At around 11:50 p.m., a second shooting was reported outside a Giant grocery store in Aspen Hill located on Connecticut Avenue. Montgomery County police confirmed that one woman was shot in her car, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
SUSPECT ARRESTED
Before Tordil's arrest, Montgomery County police confirmed they were looking into the possibility that Friday's shootings were connected to another deadly shooting that took place on Thursday afternoon outside a High Point High School in Beltsville, Md. Detectives say Tordil shot and killed his estranged wife outside the school in what investigators called a domestic-related shooting. Another man was also shot as he tried to intervene and help the victim.
On Thursday night, police issued an alert for Tordil, who was said to be driving a silver 2015 Hyundai Elantra with Pennsylvania license plate JZA0123. Tordil is an employee of the Federal Protection Service, and police warned that he may have been wearing body armor and may be heavily armed.
Also before the arrest, sources told FOX 5's Marina Marraco that Friday's shootings were connected to Thursday night's shooting, but Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks said he could not confirm a connection, and they were continuing to look into the possibility of a connection.
In a press conference late Friday afternoon with officials from both counties, authorities said Tordil was the alleged gunman in all three shootings. Police said officers responding to the Giant parking lot shooting located the vehicle that matched the description parked in the Northgate Shopping Center.
Montgomery County Police Chief Tom Manger said plainclothes officers had Tordil under surveillance in the area and they were extremely careful to make sure they kept the public safe. Authorities said he had earlier threatened to "commit suicide by cop."
"We had him under surveillance and he was walking from store to store and at no point was it safe to take him into custody until we did," said Manger.
After he came out of the Dunkin' Donuts, police cornered Tordil at his car.
"They came in from all directions," said one witness. "They boxed him in, they rammed the car from the front and the back, pulled guns on him and told him to get out of the vehicle."
Without a single gunshot from both police and the suspect, Tordil exited his car and surrendered peacefully.
CHARGES
On Friday night, Prince George's County police officially charged Tordil with first-degree murder and related charges for the fatal shooting of his wife. He was also charged with assault for shooting a bystander who attempted to intervene in the confrontation between the couple.
Charges are pending against Tordil in connection to the shootings in Montgomery County. He was in custody Friday night at Montgomery County police headquarters being interviewed. He will be arraigned in District Court Monday afternoon.
SCHOOLS ON ALERT
A shelter-in-place order was issued for all Montgomery County schools out of what Starks called an abundance of caution, but just before 2:30 pm, that order was lifted at all but five schools. Following Tordil's arrest, all shelter-in-place orders were lifted.
Stay with FOX 5 and fox5dc.com for updates.