Latest news with #UW-Platteville
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
UW-Platteville shooting puts gun policies back in the spotlight
The May 19 shootings that killed two University of Wisconsin-Platteville students put campus gun policies back in the spotlight about a decade after lawmakers considered a bill loosening restrictions. Wilgus Hall assistant resident director Kelsie Martin, 22, of Beloit, was pronounced dead at UW Hospital, with a preliminary autopsy showing she died from a gunshot wound, the university said. Hallie Helms, also 22, of Baraboo, lived in Wilgus Hall and died a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the dorm. UW-Platteville Chancellor Tammy Evetovich said the shooting was a "targeted and isolated" incident. The university police department is leading the investigation into the apparent murder-suicide. Officials have declined to release additional details, including potential motive and the type of gun used. Here's what to know about guns on Wisconsin college campuses: Wisconsin became the 49th state to legalize the concealed carry of firearms and other weapons in 2011. The law, however, allows the state's public universities to ban guns by posting signs at the entrance of each campus building saying firearms are prohibited. The current UW System administrative code reads, 'a person is prohibited from carrying, possessing, or using any dangerous weapon on university lands or in university buildings or facilities except with the written approval of the chief administrative officer or for law enforcement purposes." UW-Platteville has not granted any exceptions, university spokesperson Christine Bellport said. The UW-Platteville Police Department offers students secure storage of sporting and hunting goods, including rifles, shotguns, handguns, bows, paintball guns or other legal weapons. Bellport said 23 students used the secure storage in the spring 2025 semester. Neither Martin nor Helms were among the 23 students. The university policy also allows guns in vehicles that are driven or parked in a parking facility in connection with a special event. No, there is no gun registry in Wisconsin. Concealed carry gun holders must have licenses, but these records are not considered public. A decade ago, shortly after a gunman killed nine people at an Oregon community college, debate surged around whether concealed-carry weapons should be allowed on UW campuses. Republican lawmakers introduced a bill in 2015 that would have allowed UW students and faculty to carry concealed guns inside public university and college buildings. The bill's author, then-Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, said it was not in response to the Oregon shooting and had been in the works for months in response to rising violence near the UW-Milwaukee campus, which UWM officials disputed. Kremer said the law banning concealed weapons inside campus buildings puts students at greater risk of becoming crime victims because they walk unarmed to and from class in the early morning or late evening, "often through high-crime areas." The UW-Madison Police Department opposed the bill, saying that allowing guns in a Camp Randall Stadium filled with 80,000 fans would pose a major security issue. Kremer's bill died in committee. In the same legislative session, a Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill that was essentially the mirror opposite of the GOP version. It also died without a hearing. Kelly Meyerhofer covers higher education in Wisconsin. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@ or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-Platteville shooting puts gun policies back in the spotlight
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
What we know about Kelsie Martin and Hallie Helms, the UW-Platteville students who died
Details about the lives of two University of Wisconsin-Platteville students are surfacing after their sudden deaths in a campus dormitory. Kelsie Martin, 22, of Beloit, and Hallie L. Helms, 22, of Baraboo, both lived in Wilgur Hall, the site of an emergency incident May 19 that left both students dead, the university said. The women graduated just two days earlier, according to a commencement program. Martin graduated summa cum laude with a degree in psychology, and Helms graduated magna cum laude with an elementary education degree. More: A day after student deaths, UW-Platteville campus reflects on 'surreal' end of year As of midday May 20, much remained unclear, including how the women died. Campus police and administrators have refused to say whether shots were fired, but the incident prompted a shelter-in-place order, and many on campus said a shooting apparently had occurred. Martin had been the assistant resident director at Wilgus Hall since 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. That meant she was the lead supervisor of the dorm, overseeing eight to 12 resident assistants, she wrote on LinkedIn. She attended weekly meetings, held office hours and 'responded to various emergencies around the hall,' including mental health concerns, hate and bias reports, violations of campus policy and more, according to her profile. Martin majored in psychology with an emphasis on human services, according to a Facebook post from the Residence Life department spotlighting her in 2024. She owned more than 400 books and wanted to have a library in her home one day, the post said. She was a 'growing leader and role model for young women on campus,' the post said. It praised her 'phenomenal work' in her position at the dorm. In the post, Martin is quoted as saying she applied for the job because 'I wanted to help people the same way my RA helped me through my first year on campus." Before she took the role of supervisor, Martin was a resident assistant her sophomore year in Melcher Hall, according to another Residence Life post. She wanted to break out of her shell and try new things, the post said, and she developed some of her strongest friendships through the job. Prior to college, Martin was the assistant manager at Coral Cove Family Fun Center, an indoor children's play facility in South Beloit, Illinois, according to her LinkedIn. Helms was preparing for a career in education. She created a personal website about herself and her teaching philosophy, as well as accounts on Facebook and X. There, her cover photo was a cartoon chalkboard with, "Ms. Helms's Class" in a chalk-like font, and she once voiced support for a federal bill that would raise teachers' minimum wage. She was inspired by teachers who were enthusiastic and helped her reach her highest potential, she wrote, according to an archived copy of her website. 'I want to be the teacher who had helped, counseled, and inspired change,' she wrote. 'I want to change students for the better.' Helms graduated from Baraboo High School in 2021 and attended UW-Baraboo before transferring to Platteville in 2023, according to her site. In high school she joined an art club, a computer club and the Gender Sexuality Alliance club. In college, she was part of a knitting club and an aspiring teachers club. She also said she collected nail polish bottles — preferring sparkly polish, and dabbling in nail art— and enjoyed fishing, swimming and hiking at Devil's Lake each summer. Kelly Meyerhofer of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What we know about UW-Platteville students who died in dorm incident
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two UW-Platteville female students, both 22, die in 'targeted and isolated' dorm incident
PLATTEVILLE — Two University of Wisconsin-Platteville students died in a residence hall incident that a school email describes as a "targeted and isolated" incident on May 19. The university identified the students as Kelsie Martin, 22, of Beloit, and Hallie Helms, 22, of Baraboo. Helms graduated with an elementary education degree just two days before the shooting, according to a graduation program. Martin was listed as a psychology graduate in the same program. The school email, which went out shortly after 11 p.m., said the families of the two women had been notified. For hours, UW-Platteville administrators and law enforcement officials were tight-lipped about the incident that prompted a shelter-in-place order and a large police presence on campus. However, several sources on campus said a shooting apparently had occurred around 4 p.m., at Wilgus Hall, a student residence. Some saw an ambulance at the scene. Emergency dispatch audio also appeared to confirm a shooting, though the audio could not be verified. Amanda Sawatzki, 24, was at a drinking fountain on the first floor of Wilgus Hall and heard the voices of two people fighting in a room down the hall about 3:20 p.m. Sawatzki, who uses the pronoun "they," returned to their room to work on a senior seminar paper. Then they heard a single loud bang, followed by a muffled sound, like something heavy falling on the floor. A criminal justice major who went through commencement on Saturday, Sawatzki was sure the noise was a gunshot. 'From commencement on Saturday to a school shooting on Monday, it's surreal,' they said. 'You think it's never going to happen to you and then it happens to you.' Sawatzki barricaded their door with a chair, fearing a shooter was on the loose in the dorm. 'It was the fear of 'I'm trapped like an animal in a cage' and the mental awareness that 'I'm just sitting there and there's nothing I can do,' is festering,' Sawatzki said. 'I never thought I would be a statistic in a crime shooting.' A little before 5 p.m., three police officers knocked on the door, yelling to open up. The officers, who they described as heavily armed, searched the room and escorted Sawatzki out. A family member of Helms declined to comment. Relatives of Martin could not be reached for comment. The women's online footprints paint a picture of two students on the brink of starting careers in their fields of study. Martin was the assistant resident director at Wilgus Hall since 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. That meant she was the lead supervisor of the dorm, overseeing eight to 12 resident assistants, she said on LinkedIn. She attended weekly meetings, held office hours and 'responded to various emergencies around the hall,' including mental health concerns, hate and bias reports, violations of campus policy and more, according to her profile. Martin majored in psychology with an emphasis on human services, according to a Facebook post from the Residence Life department spotlighting her in 2024. She was a 'growing leader and role model for young women on campus,' the post said. It praised her 'phenomenal work' in her position at the dorm. In the post, Martin is quoted as saying she applied for the job because 'I wanted to help people the same way my RA helped me through my first year on campus.' The post also included a 'fun fact' about Martin: She owned more than 400 books and wanted to have a library in her home one day. Helms, preparing for a career in education, created a personal website about herself and her teaching philosophy. She was inspired by teachers who helped her reach her 'highest potential,' she wrote, according to an archived copy of the site. 'I want to be the teacher who had helped, counseled, and inspired change,' she wrote. 'I want to change students for the better.' Helms attended Baraboo High School and UW-Baraboo before transferring to Platteville in 2023, according to her website. In high school she joined an art club, a computer club and the Gender Sexuality Alliance club. And in college, she was part of a knitting club and an aspiring teachers club. She also said she collected nail polish bottles and enjoyed fishing, swimming and hiking at Devil's Lake each summer. At a 7 p.m. press conference on campus, UW-Platteville Police Chief Joseph Hallman would not say whether there had been a shooting, whether anyone was injured or killed, or whether an attack of any kind had even happened. Neither he nor any other university officials would go beyond saying it was an isolated incident, even refusing to say whether anyone was taken to a hospital. "There was a transport," was as far as Hallman would go, but he would not say how many people were taken or to where. Hallman said no one was in custody and there was not an ongoing threat to anyone on campus, and officers were still investigating. He insisted he was not being deliberately vague. "It's just a difficult situation right now that we're investigating, the incident that occurred within the Wilgus," Hallman said. "And we're really not at liberty to go into all the details of that because it's an active, fluid investigation." Students who own guns for hunting or sporting purposes are allowed to store them at the UW-Platteville Police Department in a vault, Hallman said. Guns are not allowed in residence halls or other campus buildings, the Journal Sentinel previously reported. But people with a state-issued concealed-carry license may have them on campus grounds or in personal vehicles. The shelter-in-place order lasted just an hour, from about 4 p.m. to just after 5 p.m. "We need to let the police do their investigation," university spokeswoman Christine Bellport said in a statement to reporters. "We are getting help from the state, Grant County, and city. We are working to support students that are affected by this." Like Hallman, Bellport also declined at the time to say why the shelter-in-place order was given. City of Platteville police also were at the scene. An officer declined to share how many officers or any other details. Gov. Tony Evers provided minimal information as well. 'I've been briefed on the situation at UW-Platteville, and we will continue to remain in close contact with university officials,' he said in a statement. The university is located in Wisconsin's southwest corner and enrolls about 5,800 students. Wilgus Hall accommodates 230 residents, according to UW-Platteville's website. It is one of 10 residence halls, and more than 2,800 students live on campus, the school said. The incident came near the end of the spring semester, on the first day of final exams, which were scheduled to run through May 23. Exams were canceled for the rest of the week, and final grades would be figured out on a case-by-case basis, administrators said. Provost Laura Reynolds said she knew students had questions about their grades. "That is not our priority right now," she said. "Our priority is your wellness and your well-being." The university was offering counseling services 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., May 20 through May 23, in Royce Hall. Therapy dogs and an emotional support phone line were also available, the school said. More: What to know about UW-Platteville in southwestern Wisconsin The lack of clarity at the press conference annoyed many students, who made up most of the roughly 75 people gathered in the university student center. Sophomore mechanical engineering major Kaleb Regoli said the conference was 'an absolute nothing-burger.' Echoing that sentiment, Adam Klippel, 20, said, 'It's frustrating to know something happened, but not know what.' The sophomore accounting major said he and others were left to compare bits of information from other students. Ashley Weis, a UW-Platteville sophomore who lives in Wilgus Hall, said she was on her way back from an exam when she saw people running to the campus gym. 'My stomach dropped,' Weis said. After the briefing, Weis said everything seemed 'really confusing.' UW-Platteville is such a small campus, she said, that it feels like you're two degrees apart from everyone. 'It's been really terrifying,' she said. Around 8 p.m., officers who had been milling in and out of Wilgus Hall told student residents it was their last chance to get belongings from their rooms. The university set up temporary housing at Brockert Hall, though some students decided to stay with friends off-campus. Later, students could be seen in the Brockert lobby with a therapy dog. Rolling Hills Church, a church near campus affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, opened its doors for people who wanted to gather following the campus incident. Rolling Hills Pastor Matt Wunderlin said about 140 people, representing many faiths in the Platteville community, participated. It was important to bring students and community members together with the incident happening at the same time the semester is coming to a close, said Brenda Crossfield, the senior pastor at First English Church, which co-hosted the gathering. Church leaders let students dictate the flow of the event. Small groups of people talked, some people colored and, after about 45 minutes, some sang and prayed aloud. Crossfield used to live in Kansas City, and she noted the UW-Platteville incident happened just after the anniversary of April 2014 shootings at a Jewish community center and a retirement home in suburban Olathe, Kansas. 'We've done this too many times,' Crossfield said. Drake Bentley of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Two women die in 'targeted and isolated' UW-Platteville dorm incident
Hindustan Times
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Jill Biden to be charged for ‘elder abuse' by DoJ amid Joe's cancer diagnosis? Trump hints at ‘autopen' investigation
Jill Biden, the former First Lady, should be charged with 'elder abuse' for keeping her husband Joe Biden's health issues under wraps, according to a senior Department of Justice official. Leo Terrell, the assistant attorney general for civil rights' senior counselor, reacted after it was revealed that the ex-President had been diagnosed with severe prostate cancer. Many speculated that this diagnosis, like his cognitive impairment, may have been concealed. Taking to X, Terrell claimed that Jill Biden 'knew about President Biden's health problems' but 'still wanted him to run for President.' 'Elder Abuse! Criminal Charges??' he wrote in another post. However, there are no reports if the DoJ is planning to file any criminal charges against Jill. Terrell's post coincided with other suggestions that Biden's cancer had been kept secret from the public. Medical professionals said it was 'inconceivable' that the cancer could have gone unnoticed even though it may have spread for up to ten years. 'What I want to know is how did Dr. Jill Biden miss stage five metastatic cancer or is this yet another coverup???' Don Trump Jr., his first son, inquired. Also Read: Who were Hallie Helms and Kelsie Martin? UW-Platteville students killed in 'targeted' shooting identified Reacting to Biden's diagnosis, President Donald Trump stated that 'Somebody is not telling the facts.' Chastising Biden, Trump promised to investigate the usage of the autopen while in office. 'Biden — look, It's a very sad thing what happened, but we're going to start looking into this whole thing with who signed this legislation. Who signed legislation opening our border? I don't think he knew. I said, 'There's nobody that can want an open border. Nobody,'' Trump stated while speaking to media upon his arrival at the Capitol to assist in resolving the GOP's impasse on the reconciliation package. 'And now I find out, that it wasn't him. He autopenned it.' Calling it 'a very serious thing,' he asked, 'Who was operating the autopen?' adding that 'we had a president that didn't sign anything.' The US President went on to claim that Biden 'autopenned almost anything.' Trump further asked whether an autopen had any role in immigration policy, implying that advisers were closer to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) than Biden.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Yahoo
UW-Platteville police incident; no active threat, shelter in place lifted
The Brief Law enforcement responded to an incident at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Monday, May 19. Students were urged to avoid Wilgus Hall and were asked to shelter in place. University officials and police have shared little information on what the incident was. PLATTEVILLE, Wis. - Law enforcement responded to an incident at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville on Monday, May 19. What we know According to a Pioneer Alerts text, students were urged to avoid Wilgus Hall around 4 p.m. on Monday. People on campus were asked to shelter in place, or avoid campus if they are in the area. That shelter in place order was lifted, and officials said there was no active threat to the campus community. Emergency responders remained on the scene to provide assistance. Officials indicated campus police were in charge of the investigation at the site. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android According to the UW-Platteville calendar, students started final exams on Monday. Commencement was on Saturday, May 17. UW-Platteville canceled the remaining final exams and scheduled assessments through the end of the week. The campus will remain open. What they're saying A press conference was held with UW-Platteville administrators and law enforcement, but little information on the incident was shared. Police did say there was a medical transport. UW-Platteville provided the following from the conference: Chief Joeseph Hallman, UW-Platteville University Police: "At just before 4 p.m. this afternoon, a 911 call was received indicating a situation in Wilgus Hall, a residence hall. It was determined it was not an active, ongoing threat. Emergency personnel responded immediately. We activated our safety protocol and alerted campus to shelter in place. We were assisted by City Police, Grant County Sheriff Department, and emergency management officials. First and foremost, our concern is for our students and their safety. The shelter in place was cleared just after 5:00, when we confirmed this was an isolated incident. This is an ongoing investigation, and we cannot comment on any specific details at this time. The situation is very fluid." Dr. Laura Reynolds, Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs: "As Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, I have canceled all remaining scheduled final exams for this term. This extends to the entire Platteville campus as well as our Baraboo campus. Because we are a close-knit community, we feel this is in the best interest of our faculty, staff and students." Additionally, Gov. Tony Evers was made aware of the situation. What you can do UW-Platteville set up a toll-free informational and emotional support line at 844-602-6680 or 720-727-0004, staffed by mental health professionals. The line will be available overnight from Monday into Tuesday, with hours of operation adjusted as needed based on demand. SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News Students can also access counseling through Mantra's Care Hub at any time, and University Counseling will be offering triage counseling Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. FOX6 News will update this post when more information is available. The Source The information in this post was provided by the Platteville Police Department as well as our news partners in Madison.
