Victim recalled as devout Christian
Mongolian native was one of three employees killed in Advanced Granite shooting
FALLS CHURCH, VA. – Bayarsaikhan Tudev, one of three men killed when a co-worker opened fire at an Edgewood granite company this month, was remembered Saturday as a devout Christian who emigrated from Mongolia to pursue the American dream.
Dozens of mourners filled a funeral chapel in Northern Virginia to pay their respects to Tudev, 53, who died Oct. 18 in the shooting that claimed the lives of three employees at Advanced Granite Solutions and injured two others.
Radee L. Price, 37, has been charged in the case.
At the National Funeral Home, a framed poster showed Tudev wearing a flannel shirt and relaxing in a wooden rocking chair, an easy smile spreading across his face. White flower arrangements surrounded a closed wooden casket. Mourners added a bouquet of white roses.
In a service conducted in Tudev’s native Mongolian language, he was recalled as a devoted family man who, in keeping with Christian teachings, now resides in heaven.
Mourners recited prayers and lifted their voices in song, including a Mongolian version of the hymn “Amazing Grace.”
Khuan Pil Nam, pastor of Washington Mongolian Church, said Tudev carefully listened to Sunday sermons and made weekly offerings to the church.
Tudev’s actions — such as learning guitar in order to sing songs of praise for God — showed his faith and love of God, the pastor said.
Tudev was the father of two sons and one daughter, and doted on his grandchildren, said his eldest son, Amarsanaa Bayarsaikhan, 31.
Tudev spoke Russian, served in the army, competed in gymnastics and had a furniture business in Mongolia before moving to the United States, his son said.
Bayarsaikhan said that when he was a child, his father often spoke of America and the freedom and economic opportunities available. He also loved rock ’n’ roll music, his son said, and enjoyed listening to the Rolling Stones and the Bee Gees.
Tudev immigrated in 2005 and loved his job at Advanced Granite Solutions so much that he rose at 5 a.m. each day to make the two-hour commute from Northern Virginia to Harford County, his family has said.
Tudev’s widow, Gerelmaa Dolgorsuren, told the Associated Press that her husband was so concerned about Prince’s temperament that he brought it up in church prayer sessions.
Police said that when Prince went into Advanced Granite Solutions and began shooting on Oct. 18, he killed Tudev, 34-year-old Jose Oscar Hidalgo Romero of Aberdeen and 48-year-old Enis Mrvoljak of Abingdon.
Two people injured in the shooting, Enoc Villegas Sosa, 38, and Jose Roberto Flores Gillen, 37, remain hospitalized and were listed in fair condition Saturday, according to a spokesman for the University of Maryland Medical System.
Prince has been charged in Maryland with first- and second-degree murder, attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault and the use of a firearm to commit a felony. He is being held in jail in Delaware, where he is accused of shooting and injuring a man hours after his attack on Advanced Granite.
Authorities have said he will face trial in Delaware first.
In Virginia on Saturday, loved ones mourned a life cut short. As the service ended, a long line formed around the chapel as people waited to pay their respects to Tudev’s widow and children.
As his wife wept and was enveloped in hugs, scenes from Tudev’s life splashed on a screen behind her: Tudev playing an acoustic guitar, family dinners and camping trips,Tudev playing with grandchildren.
And the image of a husband and wife, grinning as they stand in front of an American symbol — the White House.