A Loyola University student’s tragic death has led to additional legal repercussions for the accused. Officials announced Thursday that the suspect, already charged with the murder of Sheridan Gorman in Chicago’s Rogers Park, now faces a federal indictment.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois has charged Jose Medina with illegal firearm possession in Chicago, compounding his existing charges.
This article is part of ongoing coverage. Below is information from earlier reports.
Last Friday, the murder suspect in the case of Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman attended a virtual detention hearing.
According to police, 25-year-old Jose Medina allegedly approached 18-year-old Gorman and her friends at Tobey Prinz Beach in Rogers Park last week.
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Authorities report that Medina, clad in black and wearing a mask, brandished a gun and fired into the group, fatally injuring Gorman, a New York native, with a shot to the neck.
An arrest report says witnesses noticed Medina had a distinct walk. That, and surveillance video, helped police track him to a nearby apartment building, where he lives with his mother.
Medina’s mother told police he has a limp due to a previous gunshot wound that left him brain damaged and disabled.
He was the victim of an armed robbery in Colombia, a public defender said.
Police searched Medina’s home, where investigators say they found a gun, and its shell casings matched the ones found at the scene.
The Department of Homeland Security says Medina is an immigrant from Venezuela living in the U.S. without legal permission. DHS says he entered the country illegally in 2023 and was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago that year.
In court Friday, officials said Medina came to the U.S. to seek safety in 2023. They said he turned himself in at the border in Texas, was detained for months and asked to be deported to Colombia but was put on a bus and sent to Chicago.
It was one of the many buses that were sent in from Texas that year during federal immigration disputes.
A spokesperson from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said in a statement, “The Texas Division of Emergency Management, which was tasked by the Governor to conduct the busing mission, thoroughly reviewed passenger logs and Jose Medina was not listed as a passenger. It is possible he was transported to Chicago by one of the various NGO’s or nonprofit agencies who were also busing migrants at the time.”
Court records also show that Medina never showed up to court for that retail theft charge. He is now facing first-degree murder and weapon charges.
Medina was not in court for his initial hearing earlier this week.
The court was told that he was at the hospital for tuberculosis, which he contracted in a migrant shelter.
He appeared virtually Friday with an interpreter and was assigned a public defender, as he continues to be treated at a hospital.
Officials said there was no known connection between Medina and Gorman or her friends.
Medina’s defense asked that he remain in Cook County custody over concerns he may be deported somewhere he would not receive due process.
“If I had advocated for release, I am very concerned that would’ve happened. And I don’t want that to happen. Jose has the mentality of a child; he is missing a portion of his brain. He cannot read, cannot write,” Cook County public defender Julie Koehler said.
The judge did order him detained, pending trial.
Medina’s public defender called on elected officials to do more to avoid these tragedies.
“Stop talking about gun violence and do something about it because innocent people are dying. And then public defenders like myself have to clean up the mess of these politicians who do nothing,” Julie Kohlersaid.
Some of Gorman’s fellow students and friends were in court Friday. Her family appeared virtually.
An attorney for the family shared a statement saying the family still loves Loyola University and its community, adding in part “What happened to Sheridan was not a reflection of the Loyola community. It was the result of a failure outside of it.”
Private funeral services for Gorman are happening in New York on Saturday.
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Gorman’s family issued a statement on Friday, saying:
“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.”
Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke said in a statement:
“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.”
Medina is due back in court April 15.
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