Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola University, was fatally shot in the head while walking with friends near Loyola Beach at around 1:30 AM on Thursday. José Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan man, is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated use of a firearm for Sheridan Gorman's death. According to police reports, José Medina-Medina allegedly approached Sheridan Gorman and her friends while wearing a mask and dressed in all black, then shot her in the head as she attempted to flee. Police say Sheridan Gorman was not the intended target in the shooting, though the specific evidence leading to the first-degree murder charge has not been disclosed.
José Medina-Medina illegally entered the United States in May 2023. He was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago on June 19, 2023, and was released again. The Department of Homeland Security has filed an Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest detainer for José Medina-Medina. It remains unclear whether he will be deported if convicted or serve a sentence in the US first.
This name derives from our city's legacy of standing up for justice, dignity and the rights of all people, no matter where they come from.
The tragedy occurred amid political controversy sparked by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's unveiling of the city's new 'Abolish ICE' snowplow on Wednesday. The 'Abolish ICE' slogan won Chicago's fourth-annual 'You Name a Snowplow' contest, submitted nearly 9,300 times and accounting for about 70% of all entries. During the unveiling, a heckler interrupted Mayor Brandon Johnson's remarks, shouting that he was making a joke out of Sheridan Gorman and that ICE would have saved her life, according to reports. Mayor Johnson responded by stating that everyone is grieving the loss of Sheridan and others who have died from senseless violence.
Chicago's sanctuary city policies have become central to the political blame game following the killing. Mayor Brandon Johnson blamed his predecessors for Chicago's sanctuary city laws and argued President Trump 'refuses to be held accountable' for actions that have made cities unsafe. Chicago's Welcoming City Ordinance, which prohibits police from asking about immigration status, was passed 40 years ago by the first black mayor of Chicago. Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated that Sheridan Gorman was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who released José Medina-Medina twice before the murder. How Chicago's 'Abolish ICE' snowplow and policies will affect future immigration enforcement in the city remains uncertain.
I want to take this moment to reiterate that Chicago does not want ICE on our streets, in our airports nor in our city. Chicago believes in abolishing ICE.
Reactions from officials and family have included disputed characterizations of the incident. Alderman Maria Hadden suggested in a video message that Sheridan Gorman's killing might have been a 'wrong place, wrong time' incident and that she might have 'startled' the killer. Sheridan Gorman's family rejected the 'wrong place, wrong time' characterization, stating she was exactly where she should have been. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker admitted there have been 'real failures' in the US immigration system, calling Sheridan Gorman's death a tragedy.
Media controversy has erupted over terminology and high-profile political statements. Loyola Chicago's student newspaper, The Phoenix, initially referred to José Medina-Medina as an 'illegal immigrant' in an Instagram post, then issued a correction and apology, editing the report to refer to him as a 'Rogers Park resident.' President Trump said in a press conference that Sheridan Gorman's shooting was 'devastating' and that 'these people were let in by Biden,' emphasizing the importance of ICE. The motive for Sheridan Gorman's killing and whether there is any ongoing threat to the Loyola University campus community have not been confirmed by authorities.
You're making a joke out of Sheridan Gorman. Shame on you!
ICE would have saved Sheridan Gorman. She would still be alive.
The kids were out doing normal things people do in the neighborhood and it sounds like this might have been a 'wrong place, wrong time', running into a person who had a gun. They might have startled this person at the end of the pier, unintentionally.
I believe that we're all grieving the loss of Sheridan and other folks who have lost their lives because of senseless violence.
He points the finger at everything and everyone else versus doing some real self-reflection on what his responsibility is.
This has been a terrible tragedy, and I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily. There have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. They’re national failures, a failure to have comprehensive immigration reform, a failure of the president to follow his own edict to go after the worst of the worst.