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4 dead, 1 hurt in shooting on Wis. bridge

A gunman shot four strangers before killing himself on a recreational bridge

Wis.bridge.jpg

In this May 3, 2015 photo, authorities move a shooting victim to an ambulance at the Trestle Trail Bridge in the City of Menasha, Four people are dead and one person is injured after a man opened fire on the bridge in what police describ as a random shooting. (Duke Behnke/The Post-Crescent via AP)

The Associated Press

Update

MENASHA, Wis. — Police have revealed more about what may have motivated a gunman to shoot four strangers before killing himself on a recreational bridge in Menasha.

The city’s police chief, Tim Styka, identified the dead Monday as 33-year-old Jonathan Stoffel, of Neenah, his 11-year-old daughter, Olivia Stoffel, and 31-year-old Adam Bentdahl of Appleton. Stoffel’s wife, Erin, was shot three times, but survived and is hospitalized in critical condition.

The chief says the 27-year-old gunman, Sergio Valencia del Toro, fatally shot himself after randomly shooting the others near a pavilion on the bridge Sunday night. Styka says del Toro and his fiancee had recently called off their wedding and had argued before the shooting.

Erin Stoffel and two other children, ages 5 and 7, made it off the bridge with the older child running for help.

Original story

MENASHA, Wis. — Four people are dead and one person is injured after a man opened fire on a bridge in a small city in eastern Wisconsin in what police described as a random shooting.

The shooting happened around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Menasha on the Fox Cities Trestle Trail bridge that spans Little Lake Butte des Morts, according to Menasha police.

Police Chief Tim Styka said the shooter was among those who died. The man was pronounced dead at a hospital.

“At this point we do not believe there is any other threat to the community,” Styka said. “We think this was a random act. It does not appear that anyone was targeted.”

No responding officer fired their weapons, he added.

The surviving victim underwent surgery at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah. Hospital spokeswoman Megan Mulholland said the woman in her 30s was in critical condition Monday.

Menasha City Council President James Taylor said violence is uncommon in his community, about 100 miles north of Milwaukee.

“Around the country every day it seems to happen somewhere or every other day. I never ever thought I’d be standing here talking about this and having such a situation like this happen in our community,” Taylor said.

About 30 officers from Menasha and surrounding communities responded to the scene, Styka said. Police flooded both ends of the bridge that connects Menasha with the Town of Menasha.