WHITEWATER, Wis. — A suspect has been arrested in the killing of a University of Wisconsin-Whitewater student, according to the Whitewater Police Department.
Police said 21-year-old Kara Welsh of Plainfield, Illinois suffered from multiple gunshot wounds and was found dead upon their arrival at an apartment in the 100 block of W. Whitewater Street on Friday night.
The suspect, 23-year-old Chad T. Richards of Loves Park, Illinois, had been "known to" Welsh, according to police. He was in the apartment when police responded to reports of a gunshot wound around 11:54 p.m. Friday, Aug. 30.
After investigation, police said it appeared that before the shooting, there had been an altercation between Welsh and Richards.
Richards is being held in the Walworth County Jail. Charges of first-degree intentional homicide, endangering safety by the use of a dangerous weapon and disorderly conduct while armed are being forwarded to the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office.
Richards made an appearance in court Tuesday, Sept. 3.
“The Whitewater Police Department offers our sincere condolences to the family of the deceased,” the department said in a statement.
UW-Whitewater also responded to the incident.
“We are deeply saddened by this news and are actively providing support to our community,” the university said in part.
Brailyn Kemink is a sophomore at UW-Whitewater. She said her heart sunk when she heard the news.
“It was very sad to hear, very heartbreaking, especially as we were preparing for the new school year. It was before school had started, I’ve moved in early, and it was just hard to think that all these new freshmen coming on campus and all the returning students, who both knew her and didn’t know her, were going to have to maneuver through the loss of a fellow student,” Kemink said.
Sophie Stys is a freshman at UW-Whitewater. She said this is the last thing she expected as she started her first semester.
She said despite the shock, she still feels safe at the university and grieves with her fellow students. She said she was touched by a tribute to Kara during her freshman orientation and wished she could have met her.
“They had a moment of silence and the tone and the mood was very sad, and it did seem like she was close with a lot of people here,” she said.
Stys said she is trying to stay positive and count her blessings during this somber time.
“I believe that you can heal if you surround yourself with people and this community is very positive and involved with each other and it’s small, but there are so many people here and I believe we will all remember her,” Stys said.
A GoFundMe page has been started to help support Welsh's family.
Police said they would not release any further information as it is an ongoing investigation. However, they urged anyone with information to contact them at 262-473-0555 option #4 or share a tip anonymously at P3Tips.com.
This story is developing. Check back later for more information.