Gunnar T. G. Holum was an 18-year-old from Dodgeville, Wisconsin, who had just celebrated a major life achievement. A recent graduate of Dodgeville High School, the young White male had earned a welding certificate from Southwest Wisconsin Technical College on December 13, 2019. Those who knew him described Gunnar as a quiet and gentle soul who was a loving brother and a loyal friend.
He enjoyed playing video games, swimming with friends, and spending time in the outdoors.
One day after his graduation, on December 14, 2019, Gunnar was in Madison on the city’s Near West Side. On the 1000 block of Spruce Street, he suffered a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a local hospital, but he died shortly after arriving. An autopsy completed the following day confirmed that Gunnar died from "firearm related trauma."
Madison neighborhood resource officers investigated the shooting and quickly tracked down a suspect. They arrested 20-year-old Marcus Hamilton for his connection to Gunnar’s death. A second man, Brandon Hernandez, was also arrested and accused of being Hamilton’s getaway driver, facing a charge of harboring and aiding a felon.
Hamilton was initially arrested on a potential charge of first-degree intentional homicide. He was later charged with first-degree reckless homicide, among other offenses, and was bound over for trial. In November 2021, Marcus Hamilton was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the shooting death of Gunnar Holum.
In his memory, Gunnar’s family established the Gunnar Thomas Gatlin-Holum Memorial Scholarship to support graduates of Dodgeville High School.
