MENASHA, Wis. (WFRV) – 10 years later, the Fox Cities community continues to reflect on the May 2015 shooting on the Trestle Trail.
Menasha Police Lieutenant Matt Albrecht was among the first officers on the scene when the shooting happened.
“We don’t want to remember the awfulness, we want to remember the good things that are happening, the support people are giving the families,” Lt. Albrecht said to Local 5. “The healing that has occurred since then and the healing for some that is still occurring.”
In a random act of violence, a gunman on the trail opened fire, killing 31-year-old Adam Bentdahl, 33-year-old Jon Stoffel and 11-year-old Olivia Stoffel. The man also critically injured Erin Stoffel before turning the gun on himself.
Despite her gunshot wounds, Erin Stoffel was able to get her other children and herself off the bridge to safety. Her husband Jon and 11-year-old daughter Olivia didn’t survive.
“The memory is there, you have the memory of the incident, to help work through that you remember all the good things that were accomplished afterwards,” Lt. Albrecht said.
Lt. Albrecht said it was amazing to see the community come together to support the victims’ friends and families. 10 years later, mosaic tiles with words like ‘courage’ and ‘faith’ sit on the support beams of the Trestle Trail bridge to honor the victims.
“It certainly was tragic, but we’ve focused on the unity and bonding and building up of Menasha and the Fox Valley and our growth,” Menasha Police Chief Nick Thorn said.
Every year since the shooting, community members and law enforcement officers have done random acts of kindness to honor Olivia Stoffel on December 7, her birthday.
“The Fox Valley has embraced Olivia’s heart in those random acts of kindness,” Chief Thorn said.
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“I think it’s important for us to help out with the healing and be part of that,” Lt. Albrecht said. “That’s part of our mission and part of how we want to continue to be part of the community.”
The shooting rocked the psyche of many in the Fox Cities community and 10 years later, people continue to need time to heal from the tragic events of that day.
“I think it made people more distrusting of their communities here in the Appleton area, people are more small-town mentality (and this made it feel like our area is) turning into a city,” Trey Cotherman of Menasha said. “The city element hit them hard.”
Saturday marks one decade since the Trestle Trail shooting. A day that many in the Menasha area will never be able to forget.
