Plainfield remembers murdered UW-Whitewater college gymnast

PLAINFIELD, Ill. (WLS) -- There was massive show of support Monday morning in Plainfield to remember murdered college student Kara Welsh.

Neighbors on the street where she grew up tied white ribbons around trees in the southwest suburb.

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Kara Welsh was attending the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

The stand-out college gymnast spent her childhood in the southwest suburbs. Now, multiple communities are mourning her sudden death.

The 21-year-old college gymnast was shot and killed Friday night in her off-campus apartment, near the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.

A 23-year-old man is in custody and facing several charges after police said Welsh got into an altercation with the suspect in her apartment, before she was shot.

One of Welsh's former coaches in Joliet said her loved ones are struggling to understand this tragedy.

Her childhood friends said she was always the light of the room.

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.

The remembrance ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. in Plainfield.

Counselors will be available for students, as classes are scheduled to begin Tuesday.