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What a Woman Does to Protect Her Children From Deranged Shooter Is the Epitome of a Mom’s Love

The Stoffel family of Nenah, Wisconsin, was out enjoying a nice day of bike-riding when a disturbed, young veteran open fired on them with a 9mm semi-automatic and a revolver.

CBS News reports that the 27-year-old Air Force veteran, Sergio Daniel Valencia del Toro, had just been arguing with his fiancee at their mobile home.

Here’s a picture of Del Toro from his Facebook (now removed):

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Moments later, he randomly shot and killed 33-year-old Jonathan Stoffel and his daughter, 11-year-old Olivia on the bridge of Little Lake Butte des Morts.

Another man, 31-year-old Adam Bentdahl, was also killed.

If it hadn’t been for the heroism of Erin Stoffel, their other children—a boy and girl age five and seven—might have suffered the same fate. Shielding her children with her own body, she was able to get them off the bridge and to safety.

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Erin was struck by bullets three times, but survived:

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In a statement given to police, Del Toro’s fiancee, Haylie Peterson, said that Del Toro was not being treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, but suffered from depression.

This morning, Madison’s NBC-15 reported that Erin Stoffel remains in critical but stable condition, and is communicating via a dry erase board. She told attendees what her husband’s last words were:

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CBS news reported that after taking the lives of Jonathan and Olivia Stoffel and Adam Bentdahl, Del Toro turned the gun on himself. He died after arriving at the hospital.

Community members in Nenah, WI, have created a GoFundMe page to benefit the surviving Stoffel family members. In less than 24 hours, it has already raised $101,272.

PTSD affects one in five veterans and can have devastating effects on mental and emotional health.

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