Authorities last week took into custody a 25-year-old Venezuelan national who is in the country illegally in connection with the fatal shooting of Sheridan Gorman, a student at Loyola University Chicago. However, several headlines covering the case notably refuse to mention the suspect’s immigration status, reports National Review.
The suspect, Jose Medina-Medina, is accused of approaching Gorman and a group of friends along Chicago’s lakefront around 1 a.m. Thursday before opening fire. Gorman, who was visiting from New York, was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators have not yet identified a motive.
The Chicago Tribune omitted any mention of Medina-Medina’s immigration status both in its headline and within its article on the arrest, even more than a day after the Department of Homeland Security disclosed it. Its report, headlined “Chicago police arrest Rogers Park man in Loyola slaying,” also noted, “The Tribune is not naming him because he has not been charged.”
A later Tribune story acknowledged the immigration aspect — “ICE lodges arrest detainer against suspect in Loyola student’s shooting death” — but still did not name Medina-Medina, consistent with its editorial policy.
Similarly, CBS News reported, “Suspect due in court in Chicago shooting that killed Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman,” only mentioning the suspect’s immigration status deeper into the article. Block Club Chicago identified him as a Venezuelan national in the third paragraph of its report, headlined “Man Charged In Killing Of Loyola Student At Rogers Park Lakefront, Police Say.”
Other outlets, including ABC 7 New York and NBC Chicago, also reported on the charges without highlighting immigration status in their headlines.
Some media organizations did highlight Medina-Medina’s immigration status in their initial coverage. The New York Times reported, “Suspect in Chicago Student’s Killing Was in U.S. Illegally, D.H.S. Says,” while a local Fox affiliate published, “Venezuelan migrant charged in murder of Loyola student to appear in court.”
Details about Medina-Medina’s background have since emerged. He was reportedly encountered and released into the United States in May 2023 and was later arrested in Chicago for shoplifting in June 2023. Authorities say he failed to appear in court for that case, prompting a warrant for his arrest.
With leaders like Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden, it’s no wonder the crime in Chicago is horrendous, as she suggested the incident may have been circumstantial.
“The kids were out doing normal things people do in the neighborhood,” she told a local Fox affiliate. “They may have been 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,” she stated.
“Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life. She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he went on to commit this heinous murder,” DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement.
Medina-Medina now faces six felony counts tied to the shooting: one charge of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault involving the discharge of a firearm, and one count of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon, reports National Review.