Kara Welsh gymnastics: Plainfield community mourns UW-Whitewater college gymnast fatally shot inside Wisconsin apartment

PLAINFIELD, Ill. (WLS) — Tributes are pouring in Sunday for a 21-year-old woman from the southwest suburbs who was fatally shot Friday night inside her college apartment in Wisconsin.

The victim, Kara Welsh, was a decorated gymnast from Plainfield who was attending the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

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The shooting happened around 11:54 p.m. Friday at an off-campus apartment in the 100 block of West Whitewater Street in Whitewater, Wisconsin, the Whitewater Police Department said.

Welsh was allegedly shot multiple times by a man who police believe she knew, but it is not clear what the relationship between them was. There was an physical altercation between the two inside the apartment before the shooting. Officers discovered Welsh dead at the scene.

The homicide suspect is a 23-year-old man. He has was taken into custody when he was found at the apartment after the shooting, Whitewater police said Saturday.

The suspect, who has not yet been named by authorities, is facing multiple charges as he is being held in a Walworth County jail. The charges include first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct.

The university’s athletic director, Ryan Callahan, said they informed the team of her tragic death Saturday night.

“Right away, you just knew there were so many people impacted by Kara’s personality, her leadership and just being a great teammate,” Callahan said.

It’s a loss that has hit close to home for many loved ones in the Plainfield area.

One of Welsh’s former coaches in Joliet, Nick Becker, who coached her for nine years said her loved ones are struggling to understand the tragedy.

“You tell your kids you make good choices and do the right things… things will work out… then you see something like this,” Becker said. “She was making the right choices and doing the right stuff… it’s just hard to wrap my head around.”

A childhood friend who grew up with Welsh in Plainfield, Sarah Torello, spoke to ABC7 on Sunday. Torello remembers, among other things, playing on the trampoline together as kids.

“My whole childhood, every memory I have was pretty much with her,” Torello said. “We went to school together. We played in my yard together. We ran around as kids together. Every picture I have with her was just something hilarious. She was the funniest person I knew… She was amazing at [gymnastics].”

Welsh was heading into her senior year at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater, where she was majoring in management while also leading the gymnastics team to success.

“She was always in a good mood… always ready to work and work hard,” Becker said. “Their parents clearly did the right things. She was respectful. She was a hard worker. She was a good kid.”

UW-Whitewater school chancellor Corey King released a statement Saturday on Welsh’s death.

“It is with great sadness that we announce a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student has passed away. Kara Welsh, age 21, from Plainfield, Illinois, died in a shooting off campus on Friday, Aug. 30, 2024,” the statement read in part. “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.”

The gymnastics team also announced Welsh’s death in posts to social media on Saturday. They said grief counselors were on hand for support.

UW-Whitewater is scheduled to start classes on Tuesday. The shooting happened near Whitewater’s downtown area, where there are many popular college bars.

There will be a remembrance Monday morning on the street in Plainfield where the young murder victim grew up. Neighbors plan to tie white ribbons on some of the trees near the family’s house.

ABC affiliate WISN contributed to this report.