Venezuelan Migrant Charged in Loyola Student Killing Drew Prior Chicago Arrests, Family Blames ‘Policy Failures’
Chicago police have charged 25‑year‑old Venezuelan national Jose Medina (reported as Jose Medina‑Medina) with first‑degree murder and related counts in the fatal shooting of 18‑year‑old Loyola freshman Sheridan Gorman near Tobey Prinz Beach Park; investigators say a masked gunman with a distinctive limp was identified within minutes, a firearm believed linked to the killing was recovered, and police believe Gorman may not have been the intended target. DHS and ICE say Medina was first apprehended by Border Patrol on May 9, 2023 and later arrested for shoplifting in Chicago before being released, prompting an immigration detainer and federal calls to keep him detained as Gorman’s family blamed “policies and failures” in the immigration system; his detention hearing was delayed while he is quarantined over a possible contagious condition and Illinois’ TRUST‑Act limits complicate compliance with federal detainer requests.
📌 Key Facts
- Victim: 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, a Loyola University Chicago freshman from Westchester County, New York, was shot near the Tobey Prinz Beach pier around 1:00–1:15 a.m. while trying to flee with friends and was pronounced dead at the scene.
- Shooting details: Police say a masked gunman carried out what investigators described as an apparent ambush; Chicago police believe Gorman was not the intended target, a suspect description was not initially released, and witnesses helped identify a suspect within minutes because of a distinct limp. Investigators recovered a firearm believed connected to the killing and are awaiting gunshot-residue test results.
- Arrest and charges: Chicago police arrested a 25-year-old Venezuelan national identified as Jose Medina‑Medina (also referenced as Jose Medina) and charged him 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.
- Immigration and prior encounters: DHS says Medina‑Medina was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023 and released into the U.S. under the Biden administration; he was later arrested in Chicago for shoplifting on June 19, 2023 and released. ICE has since lodged an immigration detainer following the alleged murder.
- Federal and state enforcement dispute: DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis publicly urged Illinois and Chicago officials not to release Medina‑Medina; coverage notes Illinois’s TRUST Act limits honoring ICE detainers without a federal warrant and highlights tensions with the federal Laken Riley Act. Gov. J.B. Pritzker called the killing a "senseless murder" but declined to say whether he would direct compliance with the Laken Riley Act.
- Health and court status: Medina‑Medina's detention hearing was continued because he is being quarantined amid concerns he may have tuberculosis.
- Reactions: Gorman’s family called her killing a "murder," described her as someone who "made people feel seen, safe, and loved," blamed "policies and failures" in the immigration system and demanded full prosecution; local Alderwoman Maria Hadden described students as "doing normal things" and possibly being "wrong place at the wrong time," while critics including GOP voices and reporter William J. Kelly accused local officials of a "catch-and-release" approach and politicizing or mishandling migrant-related public-safety matters.
📊 Relevant Data
Economic and political instability in Venezuela since 2015, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S.-led economic sanctions, has driven significant migration to the United States.
The Reasons Behind the Increased Migration from Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua — Forum Together
In Chicago, Black residents were victims in 77% of homicide cases where the victim's race was known in 2023, despite comprising about 29% of the population, making them approximately 20 times more likely to be homicide victims compared to non-Black residents.
Black Chicagoans 20X likelier to be homicide victims; arrest rate hits record low — Illinois Policy Institute
Nationally in the U.S., intra-racial patterns show that about 90% of Black homicide victims are killed by Black offenders and about 80% of White homicide victims are killed by White offenders, based on FBI data from 2018-2022.
Race and crime in the United States — Wikipedia
In Chicago, housing affordability has become the top concern for voters in 2026, surpassing crime, amid rising property taxes and a sharp increase in homelessness, with 60% of the homelessness rise between 2022 and 2024 attributable to immigration surges.
Chicago Voters Rank Housing Affordability As Their Top Concern Over Crime — Illinois Realtors
The Illinois TRUST Act, enacted in 2017 and updated in 2021, prohibits local law enforcement from honoring ICE detainers without a federal criminal warrant, and in 2026, four Illinois sheriff's offices were reported 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 Agents — WTTW News
📰 Source Timeline (7)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- 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.