Former Wisconsin judge John Roemer was named as the victim killed in a Friday attack by a man with a list of those affected “related to the judicial system.”
Law enforcement confirmed to The Daily Beast that Roemer, 68, was found zipped to a chair and shot dead at his home in New Lisbon, Wisconsin, around 10:17 a.m. on Friday.
The Juneau County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of gunfire in the area around 6:30 a.m. and found an unidentified man walking inside Roemer’s home with whom they tried to negotiate. When this failed, they entered the house and found a 56-year-old man in the basement with what appeared to be a self-inflicted bullet wound. He was taken to a local hospital and is in critical condition.
The assassination was reportedly a targeted act, and police found a hit list that included Roemer and a handful of other influential government officials such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, the leader of the U.S. minority. Senate Mitch McConnell and Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.
The ongoing investigation is being handled as a homicide and a possible case of domestic terrorism.
“This appears to be a targeted act, and the individual who is a suspect appears to have had other targets as well, it appears to be related to the judicial system,” Attorney General Josh Kaul told reporters Friday afternoon.
Kaul said all the people named on the hit list have been informed.
Retired Judge John Roemer.
Photographic illustration by Luis G. Rendon / The Daily Beast / Wisconsin Legislature
Donna Voss, one of the neighbors next to the late Roemer, woke up Friday morning with police cars camped outside their homes.
“My husband and I were going to the street at our garage sale,” Voss told local Madison reporters. “The next thing I know, I got a call from the Juneau County police saying we should stay home and close all the doors.”
Although Voss doesn’t remember talking to Roemer so often, he does say that he was “a very nice guy.” Neighbors stopped chatting while the judge “mowed his garden or walked his dogs.”
“We stopped talking and that was all,” he said, lamenting the judge.
Tragically, Roemer’s wife and one of his children also died recently. His other two children lived with him in Wisconsin, Voss told reporters. One of his children could have witnessed the deadly shooting, ABC reports.