whole article at JSMenasha— The Stoffel family — mom, dad, three young children — was enjoying a beautiful spring Sunday evening on the bucolic trestle bridge connecting the town and city of Menasha when their path tragically crossed that of a man armed with two handguns who was upset over a broken engagement.
Adam Bentdahl liked to go for walks across the bridge and in Fritse Park. His path, too, fatally intersected with Sergio Valencia Del Toro on Sunday.
Seven people who didn't know each other, six drawn to a pretty place on a bridge that used to carry trains across Little Lake Butte Des Morts near the Menasha Lock, and one whose motives were sinister.
A week ago Valencia Del Toro and his girlfriend called off their wedding. On Sunday the two argued, and Valencia Del Toro got on his bicycle and pedaled toward the park and bridge where between 75 and 100 people were walking, jogging, bicycling, fishing and hanging out. He carried two handguns — a Taurus Judge .410 revolver and Canik semiautomatic 9mm pistol.
At 7:30 p.m., about two-thirds of the way across the bridge, Valencia Del Toro got off his bicycle and without a word pulled out his guns and began firing at strangers, witnesses reported. When the gunfire stopped Jonathan Stoffel, 33, of Neenah, his 11-year-old daughter Olivia and Bentdahl, 31, of Appleton were dead. Stoffel's 32-year-old wife Erin was bleeding with gunshot wounds to her abdomen, right thigh and left hand.
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On the site, the family reports that Erin Stoffel is awake and conscious. "She is communicating by writing on a dry erase board as she cannot speak due to a breathing tube."
It went on to say:
"The family would like to make it known that Erin said Jon's last words to her after he was shot were, 'Forgive the shooter.' We truly love because Christ first loved us. This was the heart of a man who walked the talk — his dying breath and last wish was only that his wife forgive the gunman."
At Calvary Bible Church in Neenah and the adjacent school, Fox Valley Christian Academy, parents, students and parishioners gathered Monday afternoon for a prayer vigil.
GoFundMe: Stoffel Family Benefit
May God let my last words be filled with such grace.
A husband's words of forgiveness echo through our community. God bless us now with peace, forgiveness and healing. #PrayForMenasha— Bishop David Ricken (@BpDavidRicken) May 6, 2015My prayers are with the people of the Fox Valley. We ask God to help us pray & give us His peace during this difficult time. #PrayForMenasha
— Bishop David Ricken (@BpDavidRicken) May 6, 2015
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