The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater was reeling after star gymnast Kara Welsh was shot to death in an off-campus apartment in rural southern Wisconsin days before she was set to begin her junior year.
Whitewater City police responded just before 1 p.m. 12 a.m. Aug. 30 on a report of “a person who had suffered a gunshot wound,” the department said in a statement. “Upon arrival, Police found a deceased 21-year-old woman who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds.”
A 23-year-old man was also in the apartment and police stated that “an argument had occurred between the two” that led to the shooting. The man, who was not identified by the police, was arrested and accused of, among other things, first degree intentional homicide.
Welsh was a management major in the school’s College of Business and Economics and a “standout member of the Warhawk gymnastics teamChancellor Corey King said in a statement.
Described by the athletics department as “a phenomenon on the vault“, she had “four of the top eight scores recorded by a Warhawk gymnast in program history on the apparatus,” the school said, noting Welsh had won an individual national title on the vault in 2023.
“To put into words the impact Kara has had on the Warhawk community is impossible,” coach Jen Regan said in a statement. “A powerful athlete, dedicated teammate, and the light in everyone’s dark days, Kara truly lifted each of us up during her time as a Warhawk gymnast. There are no words to describe the void we all feel in our hearts, but Kara’s legacy will to live on through Warhawk gymnastics forever.”
Flags were to be flown at half-staff across campus Tuesday, and school officials said counseling and other support was being made available to those on campus and to Welsh’s family.