All MCPS schools were ordered to shelter-in-place after three people were shot at Montgomery Mall around 11 a.m. Friday, resulting in one fatality. Less than an hour later, a woman was killed in a shooting outside a Giant grocery store in Aspen Hill.

The person of interest in today’s shootings, law enforcement officer Eulalio Tordil, was also suspected of killing his estranged wife in a Prince George’s County school parking lot last night.

In a press conference, Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief Darryl McSwain said police had reason to believe that all three shootings were connected, due to similar descriptions of the shooter from different witnesses.

Tordil was taken into police custody and arrested later this afternoon in the Aspen Hill area, causing all of the shelter orders to be lifted.

Before the arrest, when Principal Alan Goodwin advised them against going to Montgomery Mall for lunch, or even leaving the school at all. Many thought that administration took correct measures to ensure students’ safety.

“The school handled it exceptionally well because overall they did not respond by locking it down, they kept the school day proceeding while increasing the security to ensure no shooter or danger in the building,” sophomore Ben Tutt said.

While shelter-in-place was ordered in schools, the shooting sites were in full lockdown. Moses Somekhian, an employee at the Eric Alexander salon in Montgomery Mall, was working when the three victims were shot.

“My immediate reaction was shock,” Somekhian said. “We ran outside to see what was going on and saw police cars. We then locked our front doors and back entrance. We had live news on and stayed in touch with mall security to update our clients. It was a really intense situation.”