'Forgive the shooter': Incredible note written by wounded mother when she awoke from coma after stranger gunned down her husband and daughter, 11, and nearly killed her in random bridge attack

• Jonathan Stoffel, 33, his daughter Olivia and another man, Adam Bentdahl, 31, were all fatally shot on a popular Wisconsin bridge on Sunday evening
• Stoffel's wife, Erin, 32, was shot three times but managed to get away with their two other children, aged five and seven, before sending them for help
• The gunman, 27-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran Sergio Valencia del Toro, then took his own life
• Police say he and his fiancée had broken off their engagement a week ago and had argued before he opened fire on Sunday evening
• Mr Stoffel's last words before he died were: 'Forgive the shooter'  
• Erin Stoffel's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious, and she is awake and breathing on her own 
• Haylie Peterson, Del Toro's finacee, denied that the couple had broken up a week before shooting  

By Lydia Warren and Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 18:58 EST, 5 May 2015 | Updated: 01:50 EST, 6 May 2015

The first thing that Erin Stoffel did when she woke up in the hospital after a deadly attack that tore her family apart was write down her slain husband's last words: 'forgive the shooter.'

Stoffel, 32, was gravely wounded when police say Sergio Daniel Valencia Del Toro opened fire on her family on the Trestle Train bridge in Menasha, Wisconsin, at 7pm Sunday.

Stoffel's husband, Jonathan, and their 11-year-old daughter, Olivia, were killed in the attack along with another innocent bystander, Adam Bentdahl.

Heroic: Erin Stoffel, pictured, managed to get her two youngest children to safety after a gunman randomly opened fire on her family, killing her husband Jon, pictured, and their oldest daughter Olivia, 11

Killed: Jonathan Stoffel, 33, and his daughter Olivia, 11, were killed in the random attack on Sunday night

Erin Stoffel was shot three times but managed to get her two surviving children, son Ezra and younger daughter Selah, off the bridge.

Del Toro, a 27-year-old US Air Force veteran and college student with a history of depression, then turned the gun on himself and later died at a hospital from self-inflicted injuries.

On Tuesday, doctors at Theda Clark Medical Center upgraded Erin Stoffel's condition from critical to serious.

Julia Stoffel, Jonathan's sister-in-law, told The Northwestern that when she visited the heroic mother of three in the hospital Monday night, she still had a tube in her throat.

Unable to speak, Stoffel grabbed a marker and wrote on a dry erase board: 'Last words. Jon said, "Forgive the shooter."'

The breathing tube has since been removed and Mrs Stoffel is now breathing on her own.

On the mend: Erin Stoffel, pictured here as a heavily pregnant bridesmaid at a wedding with her husband by her side, is now breathing on her own as she continues her recovery 

Julia Stoffel said the family are relying on their faith to help them through the grieving process and they are convinced something positive will come out of this tragedy.

Meanwhile, Haylie Peterson, Del Toro's former fiancee, has spoken out about the shooting, denying that she and the 27-year-old had called off their engagement a week before the attack.

Speaking to The Advance-Titan, the student newspaper of the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh, Peterson said that statements made by police regarding her and Del Toro's relationship were wrong.

‘What’s going around isn’t true,’ Peterson said. ‘We weren’t arguing and we weren’t broken up.’

Calling Del Toro 'my future husband,' Peterson, who is also a student at UWO, claimed that he had been battling depression from a young age.

Ms Peterson, who said she has moved out from her and Del Toro's home and won't be returning to school for the remainder of the semester, said she is devastated for the Stoffel and Behtdahl families.

‘I feel for the families. I am so sorry for their pain and loss. I will comment when everyone has had time to process and heal,’ she told the paper Monday.

Police said the death toll could have been higher had it not been for Erin Stoffel's heroic actions. 

'You can never underestimate the power of a mother to protect her children,' Dr. Ray Georgen at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah said on Monday.

'To have three gunshot wounds and be able to get off that bridge and save two of her children is incredible to think about. It's an amazing story of heroism on her part and certainly of her children.'

After ushering the two young children off the bridge, she sent her son Ezra to get help - an act that Menasha Police Chief Tim Styka called 'absolutely amazing'.

Barry Busby, the Winnebago County Coroner, also praised her actions,CNN reported.

'True heroes going into an act of fire, where they don't know what's out there on this unprotected bridge, but trying to save other people,' Busby said. 'And I think their fast response helped save a lot of people.'  

Gunman: Sergio Valencia del Toro, pictured with his former fiancee, Haylie, opened fire after the pair argued

The couple, pictured here after their engagement, had called off their wedding just a week ago, police said

Conflicting reports: Speaking to a college newspaper Monday, Peterson (left) said she and Del Toro had not called off their engagement and were not arguing before she shooting 

A woman who appears to be the gunman's former fiance was seen passed out on the ground after the attack

Mrs Stoffel, who was shot in the abdomen, thigh and hand, was rushed to hospital and underwent surgery at Theda Clark Medical Center. Doctors say they are hopeful she will recover. 

Relatives, friends and strangers have donated more than $110,000 to the family on a GoFundMe page as of Tuesday evening.

Murdered: Adam Bentdahl, 31, was also shot in the attack. His parents have said they are devastated

On Monday, an update on the page said she was 'awake and conscious' and communicating by writing on a dry erase board.

Relatives and friends also attended a prayer service for the family on Monday afternoon in their home town of Neenah, which a mile from Menasha.

Police said Valencia del Toro opened fire on Sunday evening after an argument with his former fiancée, Haylie. They had called off their engagement just last week, police said.

Valencia del Toro rode his bicycle to the trail and passed other people before opening fire on his random victims, Menasha Police Chief Tim Styka said at a press conference on Monday.

He did not speak to them before he pulled the trigger, shooting them at close range. Two handguns, a revolver and a 9 mm, were fired in the attack and both were recovered from the scene, Styka said. 

A woman, believed to be Valencia del Toro's former fiancée because of a tattoo on her leg, could be seen collapsed on the ground at the scene of the killings as she was comforted by another woman. 

Styka said that police had no contact with Valencia del Toro before the incident and were not aware if he had mental health issues.

But on Monday, someone who appears to be his ex-fiancee wrote a tribute on his Facebook page, suggesting that he had changed after suffering from depression. 

Rushed to hospital: A man is carried away on a stretcher. Three men, including the gunman, died

Murdered: While Jon and Olivia, both pictured, were killed, Olivia's two younger siblings managed to flee

Brave: Mrs Stoffel was shot three times but is now recovering in hospital following surgery, her family said

'To the man I knew before the depression, the happy-go-lucky, incredibly silly and inspiring man that captivated my entire essence in a blink of an eye, I love you so much and cherished our love, you taught me how to love and be loved,' she wrote. 

'You taught me to always be myself no matter what, and to always be true to myself. You always reminded me of my worth and how much you loved me... I loved you to the moon and back.'

Valencia del Toro was a freshman in his second semester at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh where he was studying criminal justice.

He had served in the U.S. Air Force and had recently enlisted in the U.S. Army, Styka said.

The university confirmed he was a student and added in a statement: 'The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh sends its heartfelt condolences to those affected by the tragic shooting in Menasha on Sunday evening...

'The UW Oshkosh Police are cooperating, as needed, with authorities investigating the incident.'  

The family of the fourth victim, Adam Bentdahl, told Fox11 that they are devastated over the loss.   

Distraught: On Monday, friends Krista Wager, center left, and Bethany Swanstrom hug outside the doors of a prayer service in Neenah, Wisconsin for the victims of the random shooting spree

Emotional: Heartbroken mourners hug in the parking lot following the prayer service on Monday

Gunman kills three people 'at random' in Wisconsin park

'We are deeply saddened by this tragedy and the senseless death of our son,' his parents told Fox11. 'We still need to keep loving people and living our lives. 

'Adam had a bright personality and was a kind and gentle person. Our prayers go out to the other family who lost their father and daughter, and mother who is struggling for life, along with the man who took his own life.' 

As many as 100 people were at the park at the time of the attack, police said. The attack took place on the Trestle Trail bridge over Little Lake Butte des Morts. 

Witnesses described a chaotic scene after the shots were first fired. 

'He shot enough rounds to hurt several people,' Judge Finley said, adding to PostCrescent.com that he and his friend heard 10 to 12 shots coming from the bridge.

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

The Trestle Trail bridge is a popular destination and sees more than 300,000 visitors per year. 

Sunday's shooting is the deadliest ever in the Fox Cities, the region of towns and villages along the Fox River in central Wisconsin.  

Update: Menasha Police Chief Tim Styka, right, speaks during a press conference at Theda Clark Medical Center, as Dr. Ray Georgen, medical director of trauma at the center, listens

Probe: Police investigate the eastside of the trail near Fritse Park on Monday following the deadly shooting

Scene: The Trestle Trail Bridge in the City of Menasha was still blocked off to traffic on Monday

Popular destination: The attack occurred at 7:30 p.m. on the Trestle Trail bridge over Little Lake Butte des Morts in Menasha, about 35 miles southwest of Green Bay

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