‘Person of interest’ in shooting deaths of newlyweds in Wisconsin sports bar taken into custody

A “person of interest” was taken into custody in connection to the shooting deaths of Wisconsin newlyweds inside a sports bar where the wife worked, authorities announced Monday.

Elkhorn police revealed the update to the case in which Gina Weingart, 37, and her “inseparable” husband Emerson Weingart, 33, were gunned down in Sports Page Barr on Feb. 1.

“Officials have been focusing efforts on an investigation lead that developed over the weekend which identified a person of interest,” the department said in a statement.

“The person of interest has been taken into custody on an unrelated matter as officials continue their investigation.”

The department did not release any additional information — including details on the “unrelated matter” — “in order to protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation,” they said.

But it’s common for investigators to nab suspects and persons of interest on unrelated and lesser warrants while they build up their cases to arrest them on more serious charges.

The Weingarts, who tied the knot last summer, were the only two people in the bar when a shooter came in and killed them shortly after midnight last Thursday, according to police.

Multiple agencies rushed to the scene after getting a call of shots fired at the business. The couple were discovered with fatal gunshot wounds inside the bar and their killer was nowhere to be found.

Police released no motive or description of a potential suspect following the shooting, but Emerson’s father Jeff Weingart was steadfast in his belief that someone must have witnessed something.

“It’s gut-wrenching,” he told WIS over the weekend. “Somebody saw them. Somebody saw them. I don’t care, you don’t pull something like that off.

“I can’t believe that it was just her and him in the bar. So somebody saw them, and somebody had to give a description of them, and somebody had to see the car when he drove away, and they better find him.”

His son and daughter-in-law began dating in 2020 and quickly “became inseparable,” according to their obituaries.

“Gina and Emerson Weingart were recently married in June 2023. Two of the most beautiful, kindhearted and fun-loving couple you could ever know,” their loved ones wrote.

The husband and wife both grew up in Wisconsin. Gina loved to sing and dance while Emerson was an avid fisherman and huge Green Bay Packers fan, the online tribute states.

The owner of the bar where the couple was killed said they were longtime regulars who grew close to staff and other patrons. He eventually offered Gina a part-time gig at the watering hole where Emerson would often hang out to keep her company when she worked late into the night.

“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,” Jordan Barr wrote on Facebook. “It is a despicable act of violence that has shaken all of us to our core.”

Barr called their killer a “coward.”

Police have not said whether the couple was targeted specifically by their killer or if it was a random, attack.