‘Beautiful and kind-hearted’ newlywed couple are shot dead in Wisconsin bar just months after marrying: Groom’s father says cops ‘better find’ the suspect

A “beautiful and kind-hearted” newlywed couple has been shot dead at a Wisconsin bar and police have not yet identified the suspect.

Gina and Emerson Weingart were shot early Thursday morning at the Sports Page Barr, in downtown Elkhorn in the southern part of the state.

City of Elkhorn police said they received a 911 call for “shots fired” around 12:11 a.m., but the couple had died from their injuries when police arrived.

Gina, 37, worked as a bartender at the sports bar and Emerson, 33, regularly kept her company in the evenings by sitting at the bar while she worked.

They both grew up in Wisconsin and married in June 2023, just months before the tragedy. Police have yet to confirm whether they believe the couple were targeted or if it was a random attack.

Gina (right), 37, worked as a bartender at the sports bar and Emerson (left), 33, often kept her company late at night by sitting at the bar while she worked

City of Elkhorn police said they received a 911 call for “shots fired” in Sports Page Barr (pictured) around 12:11 a.m., but the couple had died from their injuries

Emerson’s father, Jeff Weingart, said police can “better find” the suspect, and described hearing that his son had died in such a gruesome manner as “heartbreaking.”

“Someone saw them,” he said WISN. ‘Someone saw them. I don’t care, you can’t pull off something like that. I can’t believe it was just her and him in the bar.

“So someone saw them, and someone had to give a description of them, and someone had to see the car as it drove away, and they better find it.”

The distraught father added that Emerson called him minutes before he died at 12:09 p.m.

“There was no one there when I answered, I was sleeping,” he told WISN. ‘And he called. He probably didn’t know who else to call.”

Police cordoned off the area as they searched for evidence, while devastated friends, relatives and locals left flowers, candles and photos of the nearby couple.

Emerson was a Christian and “avid sportsman” who “practically learned to fish as soon as he could walk,” according to the couple’s joint obituary.

He grew up in Burlington, Wisconsin, and worked at Kroger as a meat department manager at Metro Market in Mukwonago.

The Weingarts (pictured together) both grew up in Wisconsin and married in June 2023, just months before the attack

Gina, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was “a very sociable person and loved people,” while Emerson was a Christian and “avid sportsman,” according to their joint obituary

Police have yet to confirm whether they believe the couple (pictured together in 2023) were targeted, or if it was a random attack

Gina, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was “a very social person and loved people.” She also had an “amazing” singing voice and was selected for a cruise ship dance group.

“When she walked into a room at the end of the day, she knew everyone. She had a beautiful smile that would light up a room,” their obituary reads.

“Gina and Emerson started dating in 2020 and became inseparable,” the tribute adds. “(They were) two of the most beautiful, kind-hearted and fun-loving couples you could ever know.”

The double homicide has left residents of the small town of Elkhorn shocked, and local business owners have said they are taking safety measures.

“It’s an uncomfortable feeling,” Aaron Gottchalk, owner of Driven Nutrition near the crime scene, told WISN. “You know, we don’t know anything right now.”