Suspect arrested in killing of gymnastics champion at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

WHITEWATER, Wis. -- A suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of a national gymnastics champion in an apartment near the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater campus, police said.

Kara Welsh, a 21-year-old student who was majoring in management in the school’s College of Business and Economics, was killed Friday night, Whitewater police said. The suspect, a 23-year-old man, was arrested at the scene and is being held at the Walworth County Jail.

In a news release posted online Saturday, police did not describe what led to the shooting, except to say that Welsh and the suspect knew each other and that there had been an altercation between the two.

Police have asked the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office to consider charging the suspect with first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct while armed.

The investigation is ongoing and police have released no additional information.

Welsh, who was from Plainfield, Illinois, was a member of the Warhawk gymnastics team and last year she took the individual national title on vault at the NCAA Division III championships, the university said 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,” UW-Whitewater Chancellor Corey King said. The campus is about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Milwaukee.

The university is offering counseling to the school's gymnastics team and coaches. School staff planned to provide extra support and flexibility to students Tuesday ahead of the start of classes.

“Our hearts are broken with the tragic loss of one of our own,” the school's gymnastics team said on Facebook.