June 4 (UPI) -- A retired judge was killed in his Wisconsin home by a gunman who had also allegedly targeted other officials.
John Roemer, 68, was shot dead at his home in the town of New Lisbon around 6:30 a.m. Friday, the Wisconsin Justice Department said in a statement.
He was identified as the victim by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and CNN citing law enforcement sources, who said the gunman also targeted Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat.
"This incident appears to be a targeted act. There is no immediate danger to the public," the Wisconsin Justice Department said in the statement.
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Deputies with the Juneau County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call notifying them that the 56-year-old gunman, whose name was not released, had fired two shots inside the home and responded to the scene.
Officials said law enforcement tried to negotiate with the gunman but entered the home when those efforts failed, the news release reads.
Law enforcement found the alleged gunman with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the basement and he was transported to a local hospital. The gun was also recovered at the scene.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said during a news conference Friday afternoon that the shooting was a "targeted act and the targeting appears to be based on some sort of court case or court cases."
"Those who may have been other targets have been notified of that, but we are not aware of any active threat to individuals," he said.
"If we become aware of any specific ongoing threat, we will certainly notify people when we are aware of that."
Scott Southworth, the former district attorney for Juneau County from 2005 to 2013, remembered Roemer as a "brilliant legal scholar who devoted an incredible amount of time to doing the right thing" in comments to the Wisconsin Rapid Tribune.
"I learned a great deal from him," Southworth said, noting that Roemer had the somewhat unique experience of having served as a defense attorney, a prosecutor and a judge.
Roemer was first elected to the Juneau County Circuit Court in 2004 and was reelected in 2010 and 2016. He resigned in August 2017 because of the declining health of his wife, who died the next year.
