Chicago City Councilwoman Maria Hadden (D) indicated that Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman, 18, “might have surprised” the undocumented individual accused of her murder while trying to flee.
As reported, Jose Medina-Medina, 25, an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, was taken into custody by Chicago police and charged with the murder of Sheridan Gorman, also known as Shera, in what appeared to be a random attack at the pier of Chicago’s Toby Prinz Beach.
Sheridan was with friends on the pier when she noticed Medina-Medina hiding. She alerted her friends, but police allege that Medina-Medina then chased the group and opened fire, ultimately hitting Sheridan as she tried to escape.
Councilwoman Maria Hadden, representing the Rogers Park area where the incident occurred, suggested in a video message that Sheridan may have startled Medina-Medina and was just in the “wrong place” at the “wrong time.”
“From what I’ve heard…she seemed to be doing just that. She had just come out, and, you know, people go to the beach, right? On the pier, walking around… kids were outside doing normal things that neighbors do,” Hadden stated. “It appears this was just the wrong place, wrong time, and they may have encountered someone armed and surprised him at the end of the pier.”
In a response to Sheridan’s death, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker criticized President Donald Trump for attempting to politicize the tragedy.
“The Trump administration needs to stop politicizing violent tragedies and instead focus on practical solutions, like restoring federal violence prevention funding to support security efforts,” said Pritzker, a proponent of the state’s sanctuary policies.
On the other hand, Illinois State Comptroller Susana Mendoza (D) expressed gratitude to law enforcement for apprehending the primary suspect and urged the Trump administration to “detain him, prosecute him, and deport him to a prison in El Salvador.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) later recognized Medina-Medina as an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela, noting he was detained at the southern border on May 9, 2023.
Due to former President Joe Biden’s catch-and-release policy, Medina-Medina was released from Border Patrol custody into the U.S.
Just a month later, on June 19, 2023, he was arrested in Chicago for suspected shoplifting. Strict protective policies in Chicago and Illinois permit the release of illegal immigrants from police custody without referring them to ICE for deportation.
Currently, Medina-Medina remains in police custody in Chicago.
