Father Warns of More Deaths After Loyola Freshman Sheridan Gorman Killed; Suspect Linked to 2023 Border Entry

Loyola University Chicago freshman Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed while with friends at a Rogers Park pier on March 19. Court records list Gorman as 18, though some reports have described her as 20. Prosecutors say the fatal shot struck her in the upper back after a confrontation at a lighthouse on the pier.

Prosecutors allege 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina was hiding behind the lighthouse when Gorman alerted her friends. According to the prosecution, Medina-Medina chased the group and opened fire, striking Gorman. Law enforcement sources described the incident as an apparent ambush and said the suspect may have worn a face covering during the attack.

Surveillance footage later captured a man believed to be the suspect in the lobby of his apartment building, and a building engineer who knew the man told police he recognized a "very distinct limp and gait." Images were entered into police databases and matched to records from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which indicate the suspect entered the United States in 2023 and was detained and later released.

Tobey Prinz Beach in Rogers Park, Chicago, IL., Monday, March 23, 2026. Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman was fatally shot on the pier on Thursday, March 19, 2026.(Fox News)

Family Reaction and Broader Concerns

Joe Abraham, who lost his daughter Katie in a January 2025 hit-and-run in Urbana, Illinois, has spoken publicly about Gorman's death. Abraham said the two tragedies are "very parallel" and called for changes to state immigration policy following what he described as repeated harms caused by people who should not have been in the country.

“I am speaking out because I know there will be more deaths and more victims. Not everyone dies, but there are innocent victims every day... These policies are so reckless, so radical, so extreme,” Abraham told Fox News Digital.

In the Urbana case, prosecutors said the driver, Julio Cucul-Bol, fled the scene after hitting Katie Abraham; he was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Defense Claims and Medical History

Medina-Medina's attorney has said the defendant suffered a severe head wound years earlier while living in Colombia after his mother moved there from Venezuela. The attorney said the injury resulted in the loss of part of his skull and a portion of his brain, leaving him to relearn basic functions and allegedly giving him the brain development of a child. Defense counsel also stated that Medina-Medina has epilepsy, retains bullet fragments in his brain, and contracted tuberculosis while in a shelter.

Flowers left in memory of Loyola University freshman, Sheridan Gorman, on the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach in Rogers Park, Chicago, IL., Monday, March 23, 2026. Gorman was fatally shot on the pier on March 19, 2026.

Those medical and background claims come from the defense and have been offered to explain the defendant's condition and behavior; they have not been independently adjudicated in court. Prosecutors maintain the facts of the case point to intentional violence.

Remembrance

Family and friends remember Sheridan Gorman for her warmth and engagement. Her obituary describes her as someone who "had a way of making people feel seen, valued and believed in," noting her compassion, love of water sports and deep connections to family, friends and community.

As the case proceeds, investigators continue to review surveillance, witness statements and federal records. The allegations about the suspect's entry and prior detention are part of the public record reported by law enforcement and federal agencies.