Person of interest in custody after Wisconsin newlyweds gunned down in bar shooting

A person of interest has been taken into police custody after a newlywed couple was found shot and killed inside a Wisconsin sports bar on Thursday, Feb. 1.

Gina Weingart, 37, and Emerson Weingart, 33, were gunned down inside the Sports Page Barr in Elkhorn on Thursday shortly after midnight, according to news releases from the Elkhorn Police Department posted on social media.

On Monday, Elkhorn police announced they have been focusing on a lead that developed over the weekend, leading to the person’s arrest. Police also noted the person was taken into custody on an unrelated matter as officials continue to investigate.

Elkhorn Police said they received a 911 call just before 12:30 a.m. for ‘shots fired’, but the couple had died from their injuries by the time police arrived. 

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Friends and family told FOX6 News the couple were recently married in June. A friend said Gina was a bartender at the bar, and Emerson was there to keep her company when the shooting happened.

The owner of the bar posted on Facebook, calling the shooting the act of a coward.

“1st some coward came into the bar and opened fire. Although this individual has not been identified/caught yet, I won’t be talking about him,” Jordan Barr wrote. 

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Barr continued his post saying that Gina and Emerson would often come to the bar and become close with the staff before she started working there as a bartender.

“The Sports Page Barr staff and regulars have always been more than a tight-knit group, a family. Before Gina joined our staff, her and Emerson started coming in and very quickly became close with all of us, staff and patrons alike,” Barr wrote. “Their lives were just beginning, and I believe I speak for our entire Sports Page family by saying we are absolutely devastated by what happened. It is a despicable act of violence that has shaken all of us to our core.”

Gina and Emerson started dating in 2020 and became inseparable, according to the couple’s obituary. 

Funeral services for the couple are being held on Saturday, Feb. 10, at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Burlington, according to the Daniels Family Funeral Home and Crematory. 

Police have yet to determine whether they believe the couple was targeted, or if it was a random attack. 

“We are all just devastated right now and pray that Emerson and Gina get the justice they deserve,” Leland Weingart, Emerson’s brother, told FOX6 via text.

Anyone with information about the shooting is encouraged to call the Walworth County Communications Center at 262-741-4400.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Elkhorn Police Department for more information.