A Cook County judge has ordered the undocumented Venezuelan national charged in last week's shooting death of Loyola Chicago student Sheridan Gorman to stay behind bars at least until his next appearance in court, while family members of the 18-year-old first-year student lashed out at city and state leaders.
Prosecutors claim 25-year-old Jose Medina shot Sheridan Gorman in the back after she and a group of friends startled him as they walked on the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach Park, 1050 W. Pratt Blvd., on March 19.
Information presented during his hearing Friday morning alleged Medina was living with his mother near the park at the time of the shooting, and that surveillance images and evidence from a handgun tied him to the crime. Prosecutors confirmed that Medina had a warrant out for his arrest after skipping out on a hearing in a 2023 shoplifting arrest.
"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," State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke said in a statement released after the hearing. "Our office is committed to seeking justice for Sheridan and holding the defendant fully accountable as we prosecute this case to the fullest extent."
In the meantime, the victim's family members are criticizing how top city and state leaders are framing her death.
The latest statements from the Gorman family acknowledge expressions of condolence this week from Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor J.B. Pritzker. The mayor on Tuesday told reporters in part that there are "no words that one could express that could properly console a family that lost their baby," and the governor noted during an appearance in Springfield this week that "the Gorman family has suffered mightily."
But the family statements also rejected both leaders' attempts to pivot to criticism of federal immigration policy or broader discussion about public safety: "What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to a senseless tragedy ... This was not random. It was not inevitable. And it cannot be treated as though it were."
The family also criticized Mayor Johnson's implication that a quick arrest by Chicago police suggests the city's systems are working: "Safety is not defined by how quickly a case is solved after the fact. It is defined by whether a young woman like Sheridan is protected in the first place."
The Gormans also referred back to a statement made by Rogers Park Ald. Maria Hadden, in response to a question about whether Sheridan Gorman's death was targeted: "Our daughter was not in the wrong place at the wrong time. The system failed her."
Family members, friends and others are set to hold a vigil in Sheridan Gorman's memory Saturday in her hometown in upstate New York.
Undocumented suspect appears in court; NY vigil set for Saturday
