A man has been arrested in connection with the tragic shooting of 21-year-old Kara Welsh, a University of Wisconsin gymnast, who was fatally shot at an off-campus apartment.
Welsh, who won a national title on the vault for the university’s gymnastics team in 2023, was reportedly shot multiple times by a 23-year-old man on Friday night, August 30, 2024. The incident occurred at an apartment just a block away from the university’s main campus. Police announced the arrest on Monday, September 2.
Although the suspect’s name has not been released, authorities believe Welsh knew him, although the exact nature of their relationship remains unclear.
Police responded to the scene just before midnight on Friday, where they found Welsh deceased with multiple gunshot wounds. According to the police statement, “Also present in the apartment was a 23-year-old male who was known to the deceased female. Through investigation, it was determined that leading up to the shooting, an altercation had occurred between the two.”
The man has been charged with first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct while armed, according to police reports.
Kara Welsh was nearing her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she was majoring in management and was an integral member of the Warhawk gymnastics team.
University Chancellor Corey King informed the campus community of Welsh’s death in a heartfelt message over the weekend. “Kara Welsh, age 21, from Plainfield, Illinois, died in a shooting off campus on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024,” King wrote. “Kara was majoring in management in our College of Business and Economics and was a standout member of the Warhawk gymnastics team, winning an individual national title on the vault in 2023. We know the news of Kara’s death is heartbreaking for our close-knit university community. It is a time when we are all called upon to support one another, to process, and to grieve.”
In honor of Welsh’s memory, the university’s flag will be flown at half-staff on September 3, the first day of the fall semester.
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