21-Year-Old University Gymnast, National Title Winner, Fatally Shot by ‘Acquaintance’

A man has been arrested in the fatal shooting of 21-year-old University of Wisconsin gymnast Kara Welsh in an apartment off campus.

Welsh, who won an individual national title on the vault for the gymnastics team 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 last week, police said on Monday, September 2.

Police have not released the name of the suspect, but they said they believe she knew him even though the nature of their relationship was not clear.

Police officers arrived just before midnight 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 female,” the statement said.

“Through investigation, it was determined that leading up to the shooting, an altercation had occurred between the two.”

The man was arrested and charged with first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct while armed, the police said in another statement.

Welsh was almost at her senior year at the University ofWisconsin-Whitewater, where she was majoring in management while also on the school’s Warhawk gymnastics team.

University Chancellor Corey King announced Welsh’s death over the weekend in a message to students and faculty.

“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 added that the school’s flag will fly at half-staff in Welsh’s memory Sept. 3, when the fall semester begins.