A Venezuelan national accused of murdering Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman entered the United States during the Biden administration before being released into the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed Sunday, according to Fox News.
The suspect, 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, had previously been caught crossing the southern border on May 9, 2023, and was released pending immigration proceedings. DHS said he was later arrested in Chicago on a shoplifting charge in June 2023 but freed again under the city’s sanctuary policies.
Medina-Medina is now charged with six felonies, including first-degree murder in the shooting death of Gorman, a freshman at Loyola from Westchester County, New York. Police say Gorman was walking with friends along the lakefront Thursday night when a masked gunman suddenly opened fire in what investigators believe was an ambush. She was struck in the head while trying to flee and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives later identified Medina-Medina based on surveillance footage and witness accounts noting his distinctive limp. A firearm believed to be connected to the killing has been recovered, and forensic testing is underway. Sources told Fox News that the suspect is being quarantined for a possible contagious illness, potentially tuberculosis.
DHS condemned the case as part of a larger failure of current border enforcement. “Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “We are calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said it has issued a detainer request for Medina-Medina and again urged Governor J.B. Pritzker and Chicago officials to honor such requests for criminal noncitizens. DHS noted that Illinois has repeatedly refused to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, leaving dangerous offenders on the streets.
According to Fox News, “one month before Medina-Medina was caught at the border and released into the U.S. in 2023, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified on Capitol Hill that the border was secure. ‘It is my testimony that the border is secure,’ Mayorkas said.”
In a statement, Gorman’s family called her “the heart of our family” and said their lives were “shattered in a way no family should ever have to endure.” They described Sheridan as a bright, compassionate young woman who “lived with intention, faith, and kindness.”
Meanwhile, Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden told Fox 32 Chicago that the incident appeared to be a case of Gorman being “in the wrong place at the wrong time, running into a person who had a gun.”
“They might have unintentionally startled this person at the end of the pier,” she added. “We don’t believe there is cause for broader community concern.”