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The illegal immigrant accused of killing Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman entered the U.S. during the Biden administration before being apprehended and released into the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Sunday.
DHS also confirmed that Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, had been previously arrested for shoplifting in Chicago, marking a prior criminal incident before the alleged murder.
He is being quarantined for a potentially contagious condition — possibly tuberculosis — according to Chicago Police Department sources.
A police source also told the shooting Thursday was an apparent ambush, with the gunman reportedly wearing a mask or face covering. Medina-Medina is believed to have been living in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood.
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Sheridan Gorman smiles alongside the Chicago skyline in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
Investigators have since recovered a firearm believed to be connected to the killing, sources said, and are awaiting the results of a gunshot residue test.
DHS said in a statement Sunday that Medina-Medina was first apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, and released into the country during the Biden administration.
He was later arrested in Chicago on June 19, 2023, for shoplifting and released again — marking a prior criminal incident before the alleged murder.
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Sheridan Gorman, a Loyola University Chicago student who was fatally shot near campus, is shown alongside the school’s Lake Shore Campus in Rogers Park. (Alyssa Schukar for The Washington Post via Getty Images / Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also announced it had lodged an arrest detainer and called on Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary city leaders not to release Medina-Medina.
“Jose Medina-Medina was previously released after an arrest for shoplifting in Chicago,” DHS said.
“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.”
The agency also pointed to broader concerns, noting that ICE has previously urged Illinois officials to honor detainers for thousands of criminal illegal aliens in state custody.
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Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, was also arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, DHS confirmed. (DHS)
As previously reported by Digital, Gorman, a freshman from Westchester County, New York, was shot in the head after a gunman approached her group of friends walking on the Chicago lakefront and opened fire.
As she attempted to flee, he shot her. Gorman was pronounced dead at the scene, and no other injuries were reported.
The suspect was reportedly identified shortly after the shooting, in part due to a distinct limp, according to local records. The investigation remains ongoing.
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.
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Sheridan Gorman, a New York native, was reportedly only a few months away from completing her freshman year at Loyola University Chicago in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
“We are again faced with the unbearable truth: our daughter’s life was taken, and our family will never be the same,” Sheridan Gorman’s family said in a statement.
“Sheridan was the heart of our family. She had a rare ability to bring people together—to make others feel included, understood, and loved. She lived with intention, with faith, and with a kindness that defined who she was every single day. She was just beginning her journey, with so much ahead of her.”
Gorman’s family also said, “Three days ago, our lives were shattered in a way no family should ever have to endure.”
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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to members of the media at Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen during a primary election in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. A Senate Democratic primary in Illinois to pick the successor to Senator Dick Durbin could turn on campaign dollars and differences on immigration policy (Credit: Christopher Dilts / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
However, Alderwoman Maria Hadden suggested to Fox 32 Chicago the incident appeared to be a case of Sheridan Gorman being in the “wrong place at the wrong time.”
Hadden said there was no indication of a broader threat, adding that “we don’t believe there is cause for broader community concern.”
“The kids were out doing normal things people do in the neighborhood,” she said. “They may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, running into a person who had a gun.”
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“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 assured.
