A man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 21-year-old University of Wisconsin gymnast Kara Welsh at an off-campus apartment in the United States.
Welsh, who won an individual national title on the vault last year, was allegedly shot multiple times by a 23-year-old man at an apartment about a block from the university’s main campus on Friday, August 30, 2024, police said on Monday, September 2.
Police have not released the suspect’s name but believe Welsh knew him, although the exact nature of their relationship is unclear.
Officers arrived just before midnight on Friday and found Welsh dead with multiple gunshot wounds. “Also present in the apartment was a 23-year-old male who was known to the deceased,” the police statement said. “Through investigation, it was determined that an altercation had occurred between the two before the shooting.”
The man has been arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety with a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct while armed, according to police.
Welsh was nearing her senior year at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, majoring in management and competing on the Warhawk gymnastics team.
University Chancellor Corey King announced Welsh’s death in a message to students and faculty over the weekend. “Kara Welsh, age 21, from Plainfield, Illinois, died in a shooting off campus on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024,” he 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.”
He also announced that the school’s flag would fly at half-staff on September 3, when the fall semester begins, in memory of Welsh.
