The three people killed in a series of shootings in Maryland Thursday and Friday are being described as a good Samaritan hero, a happy chemistry teacher and a woman from Bolivia who achieved the American dream.
Malcom Winffel, 45, and Claudina Molina, 65, were shot and killed at Westfield Montgomery mall in Bethesda and a Giant store in Aspen Hill, respectively, Friday. The suspect, 62-year-old Eulalio Tordil, also is accused of shooting and killing his wife, 44-year-old Gladys Tordil, outside High Point High School in Prince George's County Thursday.
Winffel and another man went to the aid of a woman who police say the suspect was trying to carjack. Both men and the woman were shot.
“In an instant, the female victim cried out for help," Montgomery County Police Assistant Chief Russ Hamill said. "These two men acted selflessly and heroically, not only coming to her aid, but likely saving her life. These men are heroes. Malcom Winffel gave his life for somebody he doesn’t know in order to protect her from a predator.”
The woman was shot in the shoulder, a witness said. The woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries.
The second good Samaritan is making progress in the hospital, police said.
“We remain hopeful that he will survive this attack,” Hamill said.
He said the good Samaritans' actions aren't something that can be learned.
“You have to be born with that, and luckily for our victim there those two men were born with that and they went to her aid without any consideration for their own well-being,” Hamill said.
"It's just senseless," Winffel's cousin Maria Santoya said. "Senseless killing."
She followed the story throughout the day Friday.
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"I had no idea until around 4:30 or 5 that it was him," she said.
A memorial for Molina was set up at the Giant store in Aspen Hill. Her family says she was originally from Bolivia and accomplished the American dream, working 16 hours a day for the past 25 years, only to be killed while resisting what police believe was a second carjacking attempt by Tordil. Molina was a nursing assistant who planned to retire within a year.
Tordil's estranged wife was shot while picking her children at High Point High.
She taught chemistry at Parkdale High School in Baltimore County and was described by those who knew her as a "happy teacher."
"Ms. Tordil was a beloved staff member. Students will be deeply affected by her death," a letter from Parkdale to parents said.
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, 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 following GoFundMe pages have been set up for donations for the victims:
Eulalio Tordil is 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 Friday's shootings in Montgomery County.
He also has been charged with first-degree murder and related charges in connection with the fatal shooting of his estranged wife in Prince George's County. He’s also charged with assault for shooting a person who went to Gladys Tordil's aid at the school.
