We All Matter News 
Family Demands Justice After Chicago Student Killed in Early Morning Shooting
Content warning: This article references gun violence.
Prosecutors say the man accused of killing 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman lay in wait behind a lighthouse on a Rogers Park pier before allegedly rushing toward her and her friends and opening fire just after 1 a.m. on March 19. Gorman was struck in the upper back as the group tried to flee, according to court testimony. Her friends called 911 twice and later returned to find her unresponsive.
The man charged, 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, now faces counts including murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and illegal possession of a weapon. A judge has ordered him held in custody pending trial.
In an emotional statement following the hearing, Gorman’s family centered their daughter’s life — not political rhetoric — in their call for accountability.
“Sheridan was doing something completely ordinary — something any parent would expect their child to be able to do safely,” they said. “She was exactly where she was supposed to be — living her life, surrounded by friends. And yet, she is gone.”
They emphasized that recognizing the humanity or hardships of the accused cannot come at the expense of justice for their daughter.
“There is a difference between understanding a life and excusing a loss,” the family said.
Questions About Systemic Failures
Federal officials have confirmed that Medina-Medina entered the United States in May 2023 and was processed by immigration authorities before being released. Immigration officials have since filed a detainer request. His attorney has said that he previously suffered a traumatic head injury while in Colombia, losing part of his skull and brain function. According to the defense, he lives with epilepsy, has bullet fragments lodged in his brain, and struggles with basic literacy and cognitive development.
The defense also told the court that after turning himself in at the Texas border in 2023, Medina-Medina requested to return to Colombia, where his mother resides, but was instead transported to Chicago. During his time in a migrant shelter, he reportedly contracted tuberculosis. A scheduled detention hearing was postponed so he could receive medical treatment, and sheriff’s officials say he is currently being housed in the jail’s medical unit.
Records show that in 2023 he was charged with misdemeanor shoplifting in Chicago and failed to appear for related court dates, leaving an active warrant prior to the shooting.
Gorman’s family has urged the public not to reduce the tragedy to partisan talking points, but they are demanding answers about how systems meant to protect communities and manage public safety broke down.
“How does something like this happen in a place where a young woman should have been safe?” they asked. “That is not a political question. It is a human one.”
Remembering Sheridan Gorman
A first-year student originally from Yorktown Heights, New York, Gorman is remembered by loved ones as a bright light in her community. Her obituary describes a young woman who made others feel valued and seen, someone whose warmth and compassion were unmistakable.
“She brought people together, lifted them up, and made ordinary moments feel extraordinary,” her family wrote.
As communities mourn yet another young life taken by gun violence, advocates say the tragedy underscores broader failures that demand systemic solutions — from addressing gaps in community safety to reforming immigration case management and investing in public health and trauma services. None of those conversations, they stress, should fuel xenophobia or collective blame, but rather an honest reckoning with policies that leave everyone vulnerable.
Chicago police identified Medina-Medina using surveillance footage and law enforcement databases after an investigation that authorities described as swift. He was taken into custody and remains detained as the case proceeds.
For Gorman’s family, however, legal proceedings cannot restore what was lost. Their message is one of accountability, remembrance, and a refusal to accept violence as an unavoidable part of American life.
```“If we accept this as inevitable,” they said, “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 ever be asked to accept.”
