Girl, 11, among those killed in Wis. shooting

Duke Behnke and Jen Zettel | The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent

Show Caption Hide Caption Police: Wisconsin gunman shot strangers at close range Police say Sergio Daniel Valencia del Toro killed four people, unprovoked, before taking his own life on a trail bridge in Menasha, Wisconsin.

NEENAH, Wis. — The gunman in the shooting in Wisconsin on Sunday, shot four people at close range and then turned the gun on himself, police said at a news conference Monday.

Police said the shooting in Menasha, Wis., on the Trestle Trail bridge was unprovoked.

The dead include 33-year-old Jonathan Stoffel and his daughter, 11-year-old Olivia Stoffel. His wife, Erin Stoffel, underwent surgery at Theda Clark Medical Center. She is listed in critical condition. The Stoffel family is from Neenah.

The fourth victim is Adam Bentdahl, 31, of Appleton, Wis. He also died at the scene.

The shooter was identified as Sergio Daniel Valencia del Toro, 27, of Menasha. Menasha Police Chief Tim Styka said Valencia del Toro had "relationship issues."

He said Valencia del Toro and his fiance called off their wedding last week. Valencia del Toro rode his bicycle to the trail and walked past other people before opening fire. Police said Valencia del Toro did not talk to the victims before opening fire.

The shooting happened near the pavilion on the bridge.

Styka said police had no contact with Valencia del Toro before the incident. He said he was not sure whether Valencia del Toro had mental health issues. Valencia del Toro was a second-semester freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. He was studying criminal justice. He previously served in the U.S. Air Force and recently enlisted in the U.S. Army, Styka said.

He also had been training as a member of the Menasha Auxiliary Police, an unarmed group of volunteers interested in community service.

Erin Stoffel, who sustained three gunshot wounds, got herself and her two other children, son Ezra, 7, and daughter Selah, 5, off the bridge. She told Ezra to run to the west end of the bridge to get help.

Winnebago County Coroner Barry Busby said that as the boy exited the bridge, an unidentified person "gathered him in — he and the dog — and kept them safe and got help coming."

"It was a little boy who helped save his mother's life," Busby said.

Dr. Raymond Georgen, of Theda Clark, said minutes made the difference between living and dying regarding emergency personnel getting to the scene quickly.

Styka said the incident could have been worse considering the weapons and ammunition Valencia del Toro had. Two handguns were fired, but Styka said he does not know how many rounds were fired.

Valencia del Toro had a holster on his right hip and ammunition on his left hip when he arrived at Theda Clark for treatment, Styka said.

Busby said Erin Stoffel showed courage in getting her children off the bridge.

"You can never underestimate the power of a mother to protect her children," he said. "To have three gunshot wounds and be able to get off that bridge and save two of her children is incredible. It's an amazing story of heroism on her part and certainly of her children."

Autopsies were scheduled for later Monday, Busby said.

Georgen called the incident the "end of innocence" because this type of random shooting has never happened in his 25 years here.

The incident took place about 7:30 p.m. Sunday on the west end of the bridge that spans Little Lake Butte des Morts and connects Menasha and the Town of Menasha. About 75 people were in the area of the bridge when the shooting happened, police said.

Valencia del Toro's ex-fiance is cooperating with authorities, police said.

Five victims were located and three were dead when law enforcement officers arrived on the scene.

It is one of the deadliest shootings in the Fox Cities' history.

About 30 officers from Menasha, the Town of Menasha, Appleton, Neenah and the Winnebago County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene within minutes after the shooting was reported, Styka said. None of the officers fired their weapons, he said.

Jon Bacon, a tender at the Menasha lock, and Judge Finley, a Menasha man who was fishing, said they heard 10 to 12 shots coming from the bridge.

"He shot enough rounds to hurt several people," Finley said. "I mean it was just like the old days in (Vietnam): 'Bang, bang, bang, bang ...' and then it got quiet.

Authorities respond to shooting near Trestle Trail in Menasha Authorities are responding to a shooting incident near the Trestle Trail bridge in Menasha on Sunday, May 3, 2015.

"I saw people running and both of us looked at each other and said, 'Those weren't fireworks,'" he said.

Air Force records show that Valencia del Toro was a senior airman when he was discharged from the service in 2014. The nature of his discharge was not released.

He served from November 2008 to March 2014 as a food service journeyman, said Mike Dickerson, a spokesman for the Air Force Personnel Center in San Antonio.

Valencia del Toro's last service station was Travis Air Force Base near Fairfield, Calif. Valencia del Toro's Facebook page and online records indicate he lived on the base after growing up in Los Angeles.

Raw: Four dead in shooting spree on Wisconsin trail Four people were killed and one person was injured in a shooting spree on a trail in Menasha, Wisconsin. Police believe the shooting spree was a random act of violence.

Robert Kelley, an airman who served with Valencia del Toro from 2010 to 2014, described him as a "carefree, happy guy."

"I mean, he had his share of problems like anybody else, but I could never imagine him randomly shooting people," Kelley said in an online interview Monday while serving at an Air Force base in South Korea.

The Trestle Trail is popular among Fox Cities residents and visitors. A count showed that 354,631 people used the trail in 2011, an average of 972 people a day.

"It is used year-round," Brian Tungate, Menasha's parks and recreation director, said previously. "It is used by residents. It is used by folks from outside the community."

The Trestle Trail bridge spans Little Lake Butte des Morts and connects Menasha and the Town of Menasha.

It's a popular spot for bicyclists, hikers, joggers and family strolls. When temperatures warm up as they did this weekend, the bridge is often bustling with people.

The Trestle Trail opened in August 2005, a collaborative project between Menasha, the Town of Menasha and Fox Cities Greenways. Wisconsin pitched in with the acquisition of the abandoned trestle from Canadian National Railway.

At 1,600 feet, the lighted bridge is the longest pedestrian span over water in Wisconsin and cost $1.6 million.

Contributing: Ed Berthiaume, The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent.