Venezuelan Migrant Charged in Loyola Student Killing Identified via Building Video and Distinct Limp After Prior Chicago Arrests
Chicago police have charged 25‑year‑old Venezuelan national Jose Medina (also reported as Jose Medina‑Medina) with the first‑degree murder of 18‑year‑old Loyola freshman Sheridan Gorman, who was fatally shot near the Tobey Prinz Beach Park pier around 1:15 a.m.; investigators say a masked shooter’s distinctive limp allowed a building engineer to identify him on lobby elevator video, images were run through police databases and CBP records, and he was arrested at his Rogers Park apartment. Federal records and officials say Medina was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023 and later released, was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago on June 19, 2023 and released again; police recovered a firearm, ICE has lodged a detainer, he faces multiple charges including first‑degree murder and aggravated assault, and he is being quarantined amid concerns he may have tuberculosis while local and federal leaders and the victim’s family have publicly reacted.
📌 Key Facts
- Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago freshman from Westchester County, N.Y., was shot near Tobey Prinz Beach Park around 1:12–1:15 a.m. while trying to flee with friends and was pronounced dead at the scene; her family called the killing a "murder," blamed immigration-policy failures and demanded full prosecution.
- Chicago police say the shooter was a masked gunman in black clothing with a distinct limp; investigators described the incident as an apparent ambush and believe Gorman was not the intended target.
- Police identified and arrested 25-year-old Venezuelan national Jose Medina‑Medina after building lobby video captured an unmasked man waiting for an elevator shortly after the shooting; a building engineer recognized the limp, images were run through a police database and U.S. Customs and Border Protection positively identified him, leading to his arrest at his Rogers Park apartment.
- Medina‑Medina has been charged by Chicago police with first-degree murder, first-degree attempted murder, three felony counts of aggravated assault with discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon; investigators recovered a firearm believed connected to the killing and are awaiting gunshot-residue test results.
- DHS says Medina‑Medina was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol after entering the U.S. on May 9, 2023, was released into the country, and was later arrested for shoplifting in Chicago on June 19, 2023 and released; ICE has lodged an immigration detainer and DHS officials publicly urged Illinois and Chicago leaders not to release him.
- Medina‑Medina’s detention hearing was continued because he is being quarantined amid concerns he may have tuberculosis.
- The case has prompted political and legal debate: Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the killing a "senseless murder" and criticized politicization of the case; reporting notes Illinois’ TRUST Act limits honoring ICE detainers without a federal criminal warrant even as the federal Laken Riley Act exists, and GOP critics have attacked local officials' responses.
- Loyola issued a campus alert confirming the shooting on the Tobey Prinz Beach pier at about 1:15 a.m. and said police are probing possible ties to other recent violent incidents nearby.
📊 Relevant Data
Economic and political instability in Venezuela, exacerbated by U.S.-led sanctions since 2015, has driven over 7.7 million Venezuelans to migrate abroad, with many entering the U.S. under policies allowing release pending asylum claims.
7 facts about Venezuelans in the US — Pew Research Center
Chicago's immigrant population grew to nearly 600,000 in 2024, representing about 20% of the city's total population, with a 7% increase from 2023 amid overall population growth of just 2%.
Immigration has contributed to increased housing demand in U.S. cities like Chicago, accounting for up to two-thirds of rental demand growth in some regions between 2022 and 2025, leading to rent increases of up to 5.6% in areas with subsidized migrant housing.
How Does the Presence of Subsidized Migrants Impact a Community’s Rental Real Estate Market? — MDPI
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act shifted U.S. policy toward family reunification and away from national origin quotas, facilitating increased migration from Latin America, including Venezuelans, with the Venezuelan immigrant population in the U.S. growing from about 49,000 in 2000 to over 600,000 by 2024.
The Immigration Act of 1965: Then and Now — Migration Policy Institute
In Chicago, Black and Hispanic residents made up 95% of homicide victims in the first half of 2024, with Black residents (29% of population) being 19 times more likely than White residents to be homicide victims in 2025 data.
Black, Hispanic Chicagoans made up 95% of homicide victims — Illinois Policy Institute
The Illinois TRUST Act, enacted in 2017, prohibits local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers without a federal criminal warrant, but four Illinois sheriff's offices were reported in 2026 to have ignored these restrictions by transferring individuals to federal immigration custody.
Four Illinois Sheriff's Offices Ignored Sanctuary Laws by Transferring People to Federal Immigration Custody — WTTW News
📰 Source Timeline (8)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Arrest report says Jose Medina was captured unmasked on lobby video in his apartment building shortly after the shooting, waiting for an elevator.
- A building engineer told police he recognized Medina from the video because of his very distinct limp and gait, which matched the masked gunman seen leaving the scene.
- Timeline details: the shooter in black clothing and a black mask with a distinct limp was seen leaving the scene at 1:12 a.m., walking toward Pratt Boulevard and then through an alley to the rear of his apartment complex.
- Images from the building were run through a police database, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection positively identified the suspect as Jose Medina, leading to his arrest at his Rogers Park apartment.
- Fox includes fuller biographical and obituary details about victim Sheridan Gorman, emphasizing her activities, personality and community role.
- Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s office issued its first public statement on Sheridan Gorman’s killing, calling it a 'senseless murder' and accusing the Trump administration of 'politicizing heinous tragedies.'
- Pritzker’s office declined to answer whether he will direct Illinois authorities to comply with the Laken Riley Act requirement to hold undocumented suspects like Medina-Medina for federal pickup.
- The article foregrounds Illinois’s TRUST Act limits on honoring ICE detainers without a federal criminal warrant and highlights that this state framework remains in place despite the new federal Laken Riley Act.
- The piece notes GOP criticism that Pritzker responded quickly to separate federal-agent-involved killings in Minneapolis but stayed silent for days on Gorman’s case.
- It confirms that Medina-Medina’s Monday detention hearing was continued because he is being quarantined amid concerns he may have tuberculosis.
- DHS confirmation, as cited here, that Medina-Medina entered the U.S. illegally under the Biden administration and was then apprehended and released into the country.
- DHS-confirmed prior Chicago arrest of Medina-Medina for shoplifting, plus William J. Kelly’s claim—presented as his allegation, not proven fact—that Medina had been arrested multiple times for what he calls 'deportable offenses.'
- On-the-record reaction from Gorman’s family explicitly blaming 'policies and failures' and rejecting the idea of 'second chances that put others at risk,' calling the killing a 'violent and preventable act.'
- Detailed criticism from veteran Chicago reporter William J. Kelly of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s alleged 'catch-and-release' approach to migrant crime and claims that CPD is being told 'not to touch the illegals, not to detain them, not to turn them over to ICE.'
- Confirms the suspect, 25‑year‑old Venezuelan national Jose Medina, has been formally charged by Chicago police with first‑degree murder, first‑degree attempted murder, three felony counts of aggravated assault with discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.
- Specifies that the victim, 18‑year‑old Loyola University Chicago freshman Sheridan Gorman from Westchester County, New York, was allegedly shot while trying to flee with friends around 1 a.m. Thursday near Tobey Prinz Beach Park and was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Details the suspect’s prior U.S. encounters: apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023 and released under the Biden administration, then arrested for shoplifting in Chicago and released on June 19, 2023.
- Reports that ICE has now lodged an immigration detainer against Medina following the alleged murder.
- Includes a new, pointed statement from DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis publicly urging Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago’s ‘sanctuary politicians’ not to release Medina from jail back into American neighborhoods.
- Carries a lengthy statement from Sheridan Gorman’s family blaming ‘policies and failures’ in the immigration system for allowing the suspect to remain in a position to commit the crime and demanding full prosecution under both state and federal law.
- Quotes local Alderwoman Maria Hadden framing the killing as a possible ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ encounter with an armed individual while students were ‘doing normal things’ in the neighborhood.
- DHS identifies the suspect as 25‑year‑old Venezuelan national Jose Medina‑Medina and confirms he was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, then released into the country during the Biden administration.
- DHS confirms Medina‑Medina was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago on June 19, 2023, and released again prior to the alleged murder.
- ICE says it has lodged an immigration detainer on Medina‑Medina and publicly calls on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago sanctuary‑city officials not to release him from local custody.
- Chicago police sources say Medina‑Medina is being quarantined for a potentially contagious condition, possibly tuberculosis, and describe the shooting as an apparent ambush by a masked gunman.
- Investigators have recovered a firearm believed connected to the killing and are awaiting gunshot‑residue test results.
- Chicago police have arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with Sheridan Gorman’s death, according to an arrest report obtained by the Chicago Tribune.
- Sources cited by Fox News say the suspect is a migrant from Venezuela.
- Records indicate the suspect was identified within minutes of the shooting because of a 'distinct limp.'
- Loyola University Chicago President Mark C. Reed sent a letter to students confirming Gorman’s death and calling it a tragic loss.
- Family issued a statement to NBC Chicago explicitly calling Sheridan Gorman’s killing 'murder' and describing her as someone who 'made people feel seen, safe, and loved.'
- Fox cites Chicago police as believing Gorman was not the intended target of the shooting.
- Article reiterates that the shooter was masked and that a suspect description has not yet been released, with no arrests made.
- Loyola’s campus alert specified the shooting occurred on the Tobey Prinz Beach pier around 1:15 a.m. and noted police are probing possible ties to other recent violent incidents nearby.