A 25-year-old Chicago man is beneath arrest and dealing with a homicide cost within the dying of a Westchester County girl who was killed close to the school she attended, Loyola College Chicago.
18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, who grew up in Yorktown Heights, was shot whereas strolling with mates close to a seashore near campus.
Dept. of Homeland Safety
Dept. of Homeland Safety Jose Medina is dealing with a homicide cost within the taking pictures dying of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman.
In an announcement Sunday night time, Chicago Police recognized the suspect as Jose Medina. Police say detectives took Medina into custody Friday night at a location that matches the world the place he lived. Investigators spent the weekend interviewing Medina, who they’d known as an individual of curiosity earlier than asserting the arrest.
In line with police, at round 2:11 a.m. on Thursday, an 18-year-old girl later recognized as Gorman was strolling exterior close to Tobey Prinz Seaside with a gaggle of mates when an unknown masked man approached them. The person reportedly pulled out a gun and opened fireplace within the group’s route.
Gorman sustained a gunshot wound to the pinnacle and died on the scene.
Medina is a Venezuelan migrant, in line with NBC Chicago.
Shortly earlier than police confirmed the arrest, the Dept. of Homeland Safety launched a photograph of Medina, and mentioned he was within the U.S. illegally. In an announcement, DHS mentioned it has lodged an arrest detainer asking “sanctuary politicians” to not launch him. DHS identifed him by the identify “Jose Medina-Medina.”
The assertion says that on Could 9, 2023, Medina “was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol and launched into the nation beneath the Biden administration,” the DHS assertion mentioned. “He was then launched once more on June 19, 2023, following an arrest for shoplifting in Chicago, Illinois.”
Chicago Police didn’t launch details about Medina’s immigration standing.
Late Sunday night time, Gorman’s household responded to the arrest. “We acknowledge the arrest of the person accused of taking our daughter’s life and thank the Chicago Police Division, Space Three Detectives, and all these concerned within the investigation who labored shortly to determine and apprehend him. Their efforts matter. However this isn’t justice—it is step one towards it.”
The household additionally reacted to Medina’s historical past as launched by DHS. “We’re gravely disenchanted by the insurance policies and failures that allowed this particular person to stay ready to commit this crime. When programs fail—whether or not by means of launch selections, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to behave—the results will not be summary. They’re actual. And in our case, they’re everlasting.”
The assertion went on to say, “This case have to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of each state and federal legislation. There will be no gaps, no shortcuts, and no second possibilities that put others in danger. Accountability have to be full.”
In an earlier assertion launched by means of an lawyer, members of the family described the 18-year-old as somebody who introduced heat and compassion to everybody round her.
“Sheridan was the sunshine of our lives,” the assertion learn, partly. “She made folks really feel seen, secure, and liked just by being who she was. She lived her religion with kindness, compassion, and pleasure…”
Loyola College Chicago President Mark C. Reed wrote a letter to the campus group following the taking pictures, calling Gorman’s dying “a tragic loss.”
“We’re in shut contact with legislation enforcement as they examine and work to know the total circumstances of this tragedy,” the letter issued on Thursday morning learn, partly. “Based mostly on the data obtainable to us now, there isn’t a ongoing menace to our campus group…”
The taking pictures has sparked conversations about security each on and off campus, with some college students now reconsidering routines and questioning tips on how to keep secure in a metropolis as massive as Chicago.
Some mentioned the incident is very troubling as a result of it seems Gorman was following widespread security steering.
“She was doing the whole lot proper… there was nothing she might have executed in a different way,” one other scholar mentioned.
NBC Chicago contributed to this report
