WHITEWATER -- A 21-year-old woman shot to death in Whitewater Friday night has been identified as Kara Welsh, a member of the UW-Whitewater gymnastics team who won an individual gymnastics national title on the vault in 2023.
Welsh's identity was confirmed Saturday night by both the Whitewater Police Department and UW-Whitewater Chancellor Corey King. The UW-Whitewater flag will fly at half-staff on Tuesday in Welsh’s memory, King said.
Welsh, of Plainfield, Ill., was studying in the university’s College of Business and Economics, King wrote in a statement.
“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,” King wrote.
King wrote in the statement that the dean of students office connected with Welsh’s family and is “helping them navigate through the unimaginable situation of the loss of their loved one.”
The athletics leadership also brought the gymnastics team and coaching staff together to inform them of Welsh’s death in person, and University Health and Counseling Services offered counseling support, according to King’s statement.
Academic affairs staff plan to provide extra support and flexibility to affected students with classes beginning on Tuesday, King said.
Suspect in custody
Whitewater police said in a release earlier in the day Saturday that a 23-year-old man was in custody in connection with the shooting.
The Whitewater Police Department did not not release either the name of the victim nor the alleged shooter in that initial release, nor list any specific charges.
The initial release said Whitewater police officers responded at about 11:55 p.m. Friday to a report of someone with a gunshot wound at an apartment in the 100 block of W. Whitewater St.
Inside the apartment, officers found the suspect and found the victim dead with “multiple gunshot wounds," in an “apparent homicide," the release said.
According to the police department, the suspect and the victim knew each other but their relationship was not specified. The release indicated that an “altercation had occurred between the two” prior to the shooting.
In a subsequent release Saturday night, the Whitewater Police Department still did not include the alleged shooter's name. The second release did state that the suspect was being held in the Walworth County Jail and faces charges of first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct while armed.
Anyone with information should contact the Whitewater Police Department at (262) 473-0555, option 4. Anonymous tips may be shared using P3Tips.com.
The UW-Whitewater Police Department is assisting the Whitewater Police Department in its investigation.
Counseling services are available for students by callling (262) 472-1305. UW-Whitewater employees should call (833) 539-7285 or (877) 334-0489.
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