Venezuelan migrant charged in Loyola student's killing held in custody

CHICAGO - A Venezuelan migrant accused of killing a Loyola University freshman appeared in court Friday and was ordered to remain in custody.

What we know:

Jose Medina, 25, was ordered detained by a judge. He wore a medical mask and is being quarantined at Cermak Health Services at the Cook County Jail after testing positive for tuberculosis.

Medina is accused of fatally shooting 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman on March 19 near Tobey Prinz Beach in the Rogers Park neighborhood.

According to court documents, Gorman and three friends were near the lakefront and walked onto a pier with a lighthouse at the end. Prosecutors said Medina had already gone to the end of the pier and was behind the lighthouse.

Gorman, who was walking ahead of the group, reached the lighthouse first. When she looked to the other side, she was startled by Medina, court records state. She returned to her friends and told them a man was behind the structure.

Medina then emerged from behind the lighthouse wearing black clothing and a mask and holding a gun, according to court documents.

As Gorman and her friends ran toward the beach, Medina fired once, striking Gorman in the upper back, authorities said.

Her friends continued running to the beach, hid and called police. While hiding, they reported seeing Medina pacing on the pier.

After he left, they returned to Gorman, who was found bleeding and unresponsive a few feet from the lighthouse. She was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Investigators said witness accounts, surveillance video and forensic evidence helped identify Medina, who was later arrested at an apartment building on North Sheridan Road.

He is charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Medina did not appear at a detention hearing Monday because he was hospitalized.

Family statement:

On Friday, the Gorman Family released a statement:

"Today was another day that no family should ever have to endure.

We sat in a courtroom and listened as the person accused of taking Sheridan’s life was described through the lens of his background, his circumstances, and his struggles. We heard a call for compassion.

And we understand that instinct. Every life has a story.

But we cannot lose sight of the simple, devastating truth at the center of all of this:

Sheridan had a life too.

There is a difference between understanding a life and excusing a loss.

Even a child knows the difference between right and wrong.

She was 18 years old. She was exactly where she was supposed to be—living her life, surrounded by friends, doing something entirely normal. There was nothing reckless, nothing unusual, nothing that should have placed her in danger.

And yet, she is gone.

That is the reality we are forced to confront. And nothing said in that courtroom changes it.

There were moments today when the focus turned toward understanding the life of the accused. We do not reject the idea that people deserve to be seen in full. But there is a line that must be respected.

Compassion cannot replace accountability.

We also listened to a painful recounting of the last moments of our daughter’s life—and of the accused returning home to his mother. That is something Sheridan will never do again.

That is the fact that cannot be softened, reframed, or explained away.

And when a life is taken—when a future is erased—there must be clarity about that difference.

Sheridan’s life was not a circumstance. It was a future. And it was taken from her, from us, and from everyone who loved her.

We are grateful that the Court recognized the seriousness of this case and ordered that the defendant be detained. That decision reflects what this moment demands: seriousness, clarity, and respect for the gravity of what has happened.

Sheridan was doing something completely ordinary—something any parent would expect their child to be able to do safely. And yet, she is not here. That is what we carry with us today.

And that is what must stay at the center of this case.

But detention is not justice.

It is only the beginning of a process that must fully account for what was done—and for what was lost.

What we heard today forces a broader question that cannot be ignored:

How does something like this happen in a place where a young woman should have been safe?

That is not a political question. It is a human one.

Because if we allow ourselves to accept this as inevitable—as something that simply happens—then we are accepting a world where young people cannot safely live their lives in the most ordinary ways.

That is a standard no family should be asked to accept.

This is about refusing to normalize the kind of loss that has been forced upon our family. It is about insisting that lives like Sheridan’s—full of promise, full of possibility—are protected with the seriousness they deserve.

We will continue to pursue justice for Sheridan—fully, firmly, and through the process that lies ahead.

Because justice, in this case, is not abstract.

It is accountability.

It is truth.

And it is recognition—clear and unwavering—of the value of the life that was taken.

Sheridan was not a case. She was not a headline. She was our daughter. She was our family. And she mattered.

And we will not allow her life—or her loss—to be treated as anything less."

What they're saying:

On Friday, Cook County State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke issued this statement on the case: 

"This is a heartbreaking and senseless act of violence that took the life of young woman with her entire future ahead of her and leaves a resounding impact on her friends who witnessed this terrifying shooting. Our thoughts are with Sheridan’s family, her friends, and the Loyola University community as they grieve this profound loss. Our office is committed to seeking justice for Sheridan and holding the defendant fully accountable as we prosecute this case to the fullest extent," Burke said.

Hours before charges were officially announced, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed an arrest detainer for Medina.

According to ICE, Medina was previously in custody and later released on May 9, 2023, as well as on June 19, 2023, after being arrested for shoplifting in Chicago.

"Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life. She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder," Department of Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.

President Donald Trump called Gorman's death "devastating" and blamed the immigration policies of former President Joe Biden. He also called Medina an "animal."

"This person came in through the open-door policy of Joe Biden, and we're taking them out by the tens of thousands," he said. "It's a shame. They've hurt our country."

Gov. JB Pritzker also commented on Gorman's killing.

"Sheridan Gorman's murder is a tragedy — and the person responsible must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law," Pritzker said. "My deepest condolences to the family, friends, and Loyola University community grieving this devastating loss."

Pritzker also pointed fingers at the Trump administration.

"I know that the Gorman family has suffered mightily," Pritzker said. "I agree. There have been real failures. Those failures, of course, extend beyond the borders of Illinois. There [are] 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."

He added, "and in my view, we have a lot of work that we need to continue to do, but it is the job of the federal government to go after immigration enforcement, and it is the job of our local and state law enforcement to prosecute, or to catch violent criminals and prosecute them, and we should continue to do that, both on the state level and national level."

Illinois state Republican lawmakers laid the blame for the killing solely at the feet of Pritzker and Democrats, claiming they've strengthened protections for undocumented immigrants, making such alleged crimes possible. They said the state should stop at nothing short of abolishing such sanctuary state protections.

In a statement, Gorman's family said, "We are again faced with the unbearable truth: our daughter’s life was taken, and our family will never be the same."

They added, "Sheridan was the heart of our family. She had a rare ability to bring people together—to make others feel included, understood, and loved. She lived with intention, with faith, and with a kindness that defined who she was every single day. She was just beginning her journey, with so much ahead of her."

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