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Prosecutors revealed that the illegal immigrant accused of killing a Loyola University Chicago student was hiding behind a lighthouse before running toward the group of friends she was with, firing his weapon, which left Sheridan Gorman dead.
Jose Medina-Medina, 25, allegedly killed Gorman while she was with friends on a pier on March 19 just after 1 a.m., according to officials. Medina-Medina, the suspect in Gorman’s murder, entered the country illegally on May 9, 2023, and was apprehended then released into the U.S. under the Biden administration, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Prosecutors revealed in court on Friday that Gorman was with her friends at a Rogers Park pier when she looked around the lighthouse and saw Medina-Medina there. Gorman then walked back towards her friends and mouthed “there’s a man behind the lighthouse,” at which point Medina-Medina began chasing them. Gorman’s friends’ called 911 twice.
While the group of people were running away, prosecutors said Gorman was shot in the upper back. Her friends kept running until they found a place to hide, then went back to check on Gorman, who was unresponsive.
“Sheridan was doing something completely ordinary—something any parent would expect their child to be able to do safely,” Gorman’s family said in a statement following Friday’s proceeding. “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.”
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Sheridan Gorman, left, was allegedly murdered by Jose Medina-Medina. (Sheridan Gorman/Instagram and Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
While Medina-Medina was in Colombia, he was shot in the head, which resulted in the loss of a portion of his brain and skull, leaving him to relearn basic functions, his attorney said. Medina-Medina’s attorney said that he has the brain development of a child and cannot read or write.
Medina-Medina’s attorney also said that he suffers from epilepsy and still has bullet fragments lodged in his brain. The murder suspect turned himself in at the Texas border in 2023, where he was held in detention before being released. His attorney said that Medina-Medina requested to be sent back to Colombia, where his mother had moved to, but was transported by bus to Chicago.
During Medina-Medina’s time in a shelter, he contracted tuberculosis, according to his attorney.
Sketch of Jose Medina-Medina in court in Chicago, Friday, March 27, 2026. Medina-Medina, who is in the country illegally, allegedly shot and killed Sheridan Gorman while she was at a pier in the Rogers Park area. (L.D. Chukman)
Sketch of Jose Medina-Medina in court in Chicago, Friday, March 27, 2026. Medina-Medina, who is in the country illegally, allegedly shot and killed Sheridan Gorman while she was at a pier in the Rogers Park area. (L.D. Chukman)
Members of the Gorman family along with friends of the slain college student were present at the court hearing via Zoom, where a judge held Medina-Medina to be detained pending trial.
“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,” Gorman’s family said. “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,” they added.
Criminal defense attorney David Gaeger told Fox News Digital that the judge was “deservingly harsh” on Medina-Medina, noting that even if the defense was open to the suspect being released into ICE custody, a judge wouldn’t allow it. Immigration officials filed an immigration detainer for Medina-Medina.
Jose Medina-Medina shows his head injury in a jail picture. (Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
A detention hearing for him was scheduled for Monday, but was postponed until Friday as court officials said he was being treated for tuberculosis. He’s facing charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and illegal possession of a weapon.
A Cook County Sheriff’s Office spokesman told Fox News Digital Friday that Medina-Medina was in the medical division of its jail. He was at a local hospital earlier in the week before being transferred to the jail.
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Sheridan Gorman smiles alongside the Chicago skyline in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
Criminal defense attorney Donna Rotunno told Fox News Digital the decision to postpone Medina-Medina’s hearing on Monday was likely made by the Cook County Sheriff’s Department and medical personnel.
A native of Yorktown Heights, New York, Gorman attended Yorktown High School and was described in an obituary as someone who “had a way of making people feel seen, valued, and believed in.”
Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, was also arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, DHS confirmed. (DHS)
“People often say someone ‘lit up a room’ or had ‘inner and outer beauty,’ but in Sheridan’s case, those phrases fall way too short. She radiated something even greater—a rare and unmistakable warmth, a spirit that was vibrant, compassionate, and full of life. She was funny, kind, and deeply loving, with a heart that made space for everyone,” her obituary states. “She loved fiercely—her family, her friends, her community, and her faith. She brought people together, lifted them up, and made the ordinary moments feel extraordinary simply by being in them.”
WATCH: Police investigate after Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed
Gorman’s family refuted narratives that she somehow placed herself in danger.
“She was 18 years old. She was exactly where she was supposed to be—living her life, surrounded by friends, doing something entirely normal,” they said. “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.
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Sketch of Jose Medina-Medina in court in Chicago, Friday, March 27, 2026. Medina-Medina, who is in the country illegally, allegedly shot and killed Sheridan Gorman while she was at a pier in the Rogers Park area. (L.D. Chukman)
“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?” they added. “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.”
Earlier, they said what happened to Gorman isn’t a reflection of the Loyola community, but instead, the result of a “failure outside of it,” the family added.
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Sheridan Gorman, a New York native, was reportedly only a few months away from completing her freshman year at Loyola University Chicago in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
A police source told Fox News earlier that the shooting was an apparent ambush, adding that the suspect was reportedly wearing some kind of face mask or covering.
An arrest report obtained by Fox News Digital states that, after the shooting, Medina-Medina was captured on security video in his apartment building lobby waiting for an elevator and wasn’t masked. A building engineer told police he knew the suspect who had a “very distinct limp and gait.”
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Pictures of the suspect’s face were sent to a police database, and information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified the suspect as Medina-Medina.
Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital show that Medina-Medina told officials he was living at Leone Beach Park fieldhouse in Rogers Park in 2023, which was being used as a city-sponsored shelter for migrants. Medina-Medina was arrested in 2023 and charged with shoplifting after he allegedly stole just over $130 in merchandise from a Macy’s in downtown Chicago. He failed to appear for court hearings related to that case, and an arrest warrant remained active until the alleged murder.
Fox News’ Philip Bodinet and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.