Once again, our community is shocked and saddened by senseless violence in our communities.

None of us can comprehend the grief and sense of loss felt by the families and loved ones of the victims of a shooting rampage that began with Thursday’s fatal act of domestic violence outside High Point High School, and extended into Friday with the same shooter claiming two additional lives in neighboring Montgomery County. Three others, across both counties, were wounded.

The Prince George’s County Council offers our thoughts and prayers to these families who must now try to cope with this heinous act of violence and the heart-rending loss of their loved ones.

We are grieved by the tragic loss of our talented educator Gladys Tordil, and extend sincere condolences to the entire Prince George’s County school community and the community at large.

The news that a suspect is now in custody in these shootings, exemplifies the great work of our public safety officers and the benefits of regional cooperation. The arrest culminates an intense search that involved law enforcement from both Prince George’s and Montgomery counties. We offer our commendation for a job well done, together.

The scourge of domestic violence continues to claim the lives of our residents. Comprehensively addressing this issue is a key focus of this Council. All of us must work together to end the cycle of domestic violence that is becoming all too common in our communities, and that often precedes the kind of horrible tragedies, such as our community and our region have experienced over the last two days.