Authorities have arrested a man in connection with the murder of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student who was fatally shot last week, just blocks away from the campus.
Jose Medina, 25, was taken into custody on March 20 and charged with felony first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and three counts of aggravated assault, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) shared in a press release Sunday.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had issued a detainer for Medina, whom the agency said is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with a prior criminal record.
DHS said Medina was previously apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, but was released back into the country under the Biden administration. Weeks later, on June 19, 2023, he was released a second time after being arrested for shoplifting in Chicago, the agency added.
"Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life," Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.
"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. We are calling on Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods."
Gorman was shot and killed just after 1 a.m. on March 19 while walking with friends along the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach, roughly half a mile north of Loyola's Lake Shore Campus.
In a statement shared with the outlet, Gorman's family thanked the Chicago police and detectives for quickly identifying and apprehending a suspect in the case.
"Their efforts matter. But this is not justice—it is the first step toward it. What Sheridan was doing that night—walking with friends near her campus—was normal. It was safe. It is what students do every day. We will not allow this to be dismissed as 'wrong place, wrong time.' This was not random misfortune. This was a violent and preventable act," the family said.
"We are gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime. When systems fail—whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act—the consequences are not abstract. They are real. And in our case, they are permanent."