What to know about the killing of Sheridan Gorman

The fatal shooting of Loyola student Sheridan Gorman has rocked the school’s community and attracted national attention.

Here’s what to know about the incident and where things currently stand in the alleged killer's criminal case.

Who was Sheridan Gorman?

Gorman was an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola University Chicago from Yorktown, New York. She was a member of the campus Christian organization Cru and was studying business.

Friends and family describe her as a kind and positive person who always had a smile on her face.

“She was full of life, full of kindness, and full of a love that she gave freely to everyone around her,” Gorman’s parents wrote in a statement. “She made people feel seen. She made people feel valued. Whether it was her friends, her family, or someone she had just met, Sheridan had a way of leaving people better than she found them.”

A fundraiser is gathering donations for Gorman’s memorial and a scholarship in her honor. Over $150,000 was raised as of Tuesday.

What happened to her?

Gorman and her friends took an early morning stroll around 1:30 a.m. on March 19 to the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach — just north of the Rogers Park campus. They were hoping to capture photos of the city skyline and potentially the Northern Lights, her parents said in a statement.

Gorman was the first to reach the end of the pier when she spotted a masked gunman. He fired a single shot as Gorman and her friends fled, according to prosecutors.

The friends ran for cover when the shot rang out. But then they saw Gorman on the ground and went to her aid. She had been shot in the back, prosecutors said — not in the head as police initially reported. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.

One of Gorman’s friends who witnessed the shooting told the Sun-Times that “it didn’t seem like it was intentionally targeted toward any of us.”

“It seemed like he was there for a reason, and we were just [in the] wrong place, wrong time. I’m guessing, because there was not another shot after that. It was just one,” the friend said.

Who is the suspect?

Jose Medina, 25, was arrested and charged in Gorman’s murder. He faces charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm.

He has yet to make his first appearance in court because he is currently hospitalized with tuberculosis. A full detention hearing was postponed until Friday, but prosecutors provided a brief accounting of the shooting in court on Monday.

Video captured Medina walking from the beach into a building in the 6800 block of North Sheridan Road, according to an arrest report. He wore all black clothing and a mask and had a “distinct gait.”

Police recovered black clothing and a .40 caliber handgun inside Medina’s apartment, prosecutors said. The gun matched the shell casing found at the shooting scene.

The arrest report shows police worked closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the investigation. CBP used facial recognition to identify the man in the video as Medina, according to the report.

Records show Medina was born in Venezuela and at one point lived in a temporary migrant shelter at the Leone Beach Park Field House.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued an arrest detainer on March 22 naming Medina before police announced the charges. The Department of Homeland Security claims Medina entered the U.S. illegally.

Chicago police have not commented on his immigration status. Prosecutors also did not share that information in court Monday.

In May 2023, federal officials say he came into contact with Border Patrol agents and was released.

About a month later, he faced a single misdemeanor charge for shoplifting $132.50 of merchandise from the State Street Macy’s in June 2023. A judge issued a warrant for him in that case after he failed to appear for a court date. Records show the outstanding warrant is still active.

How has Gorman’s death become politicized?

President Donald Trump and his administration have used Gorman’s death to justify his push for mass deportations.

Acting Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis claimed in a statement Gorman was “failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians.”

This isn't the first time the Trump administration has used a young woman's death to make the case that undocumented immigrants put Americans in danger. However, numerous studies have found that immigrants without legal status are less likely to commit serious crimes than U.S.-born citizens.

The killing of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia who was fatally attacked in 2024 by an immigrant, spurred federal legislation that mandates detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a law enforcement officer and any crime that causes death or serious injury.

Operation Midway Blitz was dedicated to Katie Abraham, an Illinois native killed in 2025 by a drunken driver who allegedly lacked legal status. Notably, Abraham's mother wrote an op-ed last fall decrying the administration's use of her daughter's name in immigration enforcement operations.

“Sheridan Gorman’s life was allegedly taken from her at the hands of a criminal alien shielded by the anti-American sanctuary policies of the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on social media Monday.

Legislation signed by former Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, limits cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. The Illinois TRUST Act generally bars police from sharing information with immigration agents or handing over people in custody unless a federal criminal warrant is issued.

Gov. JB Pritzker issued a response saying, “Violent crime has no place in our streets.”

“We expect the alleged perpetrator to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The Trump Administration needs to stop politicizing heinous tragedies and instead focus on real solutions, like reinstating federal funds to prevent violence that support our public safety efforts.”

Panas in Chicago, a group that works with Venezuelan migrants, said in a statement the organization stands with Gorman’s family.

“Violence does not represent us,” the statement reads. “The Venezuelan community is made up of hardworking individuals with values, faith and a genuine commitment to contributing positively to the society that has welcomed us. We categorically reject any act of violence, regardless of who commits it. One individual’s actions, no matter how serious, do not define an entire community.”

What’s next in the case?

Medina, who remains hospitalized with tuberculosis, is scheduled to make his first full court appearance on Friday for a pretrial detention hearing. Judge Luciano Panici ordered he remain in custody pending the full hearing.

A community vigil and a private service will be held for Gorman on March 28 in Yorktown, New York.