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The father of a 20-year-old woman killed by an illegal immigrant in Illinois warns more innocent people will die if policies don’t change following the death of Sheridan Gorman.
Loyola University Chicago freshman Sheridan Gorman, 18, was shot and killed while she was with a group of friends at a Rogers Park pier on March 19. 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, the suspect in her death, is an illegal immigrant who the Department of Homeland Security says entered the country in 2023, and apprehended then released into the U.S. under the Biden administration.
During a court hearing on Friday, prosecutors revealed that Gorman found Medina-Medina hiding behind a lighthouse. When she alerted her friends about the man behind the lighthouse, Medina-Medina began chasing them, and that’s when prosecutors say he fired the gun, which struck Gorman in the upper back.
In January 2025, Joe Abraham’s daughter, Katie, was killed in a hit-and-run crash that involved an illegal immigrant in 2025 in Urbana, Illinois. Katie Abraham was killed when Julio Cucul-Bol, an illegal immigrant, crashed into her car and then left the scene. Cucul-Bol was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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Sheridan Gorman smiles alongside the Chicago skyline in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
Joe Abraham told Digital that there will be more victims dead if Illinois doesn’t change its immigration policies.
“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. And that’s why I’m speaking out. Because these policies are so reckless, so radical, so extreme,” he said. “There’s no balance to it. There is no consideration for anything.”
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Katie Abraham was killed when the vehicle she was traveling in was rear-ended by an illegal immigrant drunken driver. (Joe Abraham )
He said that the murder of Gorman and his daughter, Katie Abraham, are “very parallel” and show how immigration policy in Illinois needs to be changed.
“One was a point-blank murder shooting. The other one was a reckless person who was driving on the influence. But the difference is they were both violent. They were both done by people who shouldn’t be here. They were done by clearly people who were not here to better their lives,” Joe Abraham said. “They were clearly done by people who had severe diseases, like in Katie’s case. Her killer has HIV and is being treated now that he’s incarcerated, but Illinois did nothing to help him.”
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Joe Abraham says his daughter was a “beautiful person” with a “sharp wit.”
“She was so personable. Her personality was so engaging, made everyone feel seen, heard, cared for, compassionate, fair-minded. She loved the water. She was a water polo player. She was a competitive swimmer. Did that all through high school. She had her whole life ahead of her. And see, you know, like a sponge, she soaked in life, every piece of it, and she was only 20. We still had so many plans ahead of us that were, you know, that are just gone because of reckless policies,” he added.
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Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, was also arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, DHS confirmed. (DHS)
Similarly, Gorman was described in an obituary as someone who “had a way of making people feel seen, valued and believed in.”
“People often say someone ‘lit up a room’ or had ‘inner and outer beauty,’ but in Sheridan’s case, those phrases fall way too short. She radiated something even greater—a rare and unmistakable warmth, a spirit that was vibrant, compassionate, and full of life. She was funny, kind and deeply loving, with a heart that made space for everyone,” her obituary states. “She loved fiercely—her family, her friends, her community and her faith. She brought people together, lifted them up and made the ordinary moments feel extraordinary simply by being in them.”
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A general view of 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. (Kamil Krzaczynski for Digital)
A police source told earlier that the shooting was an apparent ambush, adding that the suspect was reportedly wearing some kind of face mask or covering.
After the shooting, Medina-Medina was spotted on security camera in his apartment building lobby waiting for an elevator, and wasn’t masked. A building engineer told police he knew the suspect who had a “very distinct limp and gait.”
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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. (Kamil Krzaczynski for Digital)
Pictures of the suspect’s face were sent to a police database, and information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified the suspect as Medina-Medina.
When Medina-Medina was in Colombia after his mother moved there with him from Venezuela, he was shot in the head, which resulted in the loss of a portion of his brain and skull, leaving him to relearn basic functions, his attorney said. Medina-Medina’s attorney said that he has the brain development of a child and cannot read or write.
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Medina-Medina’s attorney also said that he suffers from epilepsy and still has bullet fragments lodged in his brain. The murder suspect turned himself in at the Texas border in 2023, where he was held in detention before being released. His attorney said that Medina-Medina requested to be sent back to Colombia, where his mother had moved to, but was transported by bus to Chicago.
During Medina-Medina’s time in a shelter, he contracted tuberculosis, according to his attorney.
