Comments by Chicago alderwoman Maria Hadden on the fatal shooting of Sheridan Gorman appear to have shifted the blame onto the victim, as authorities continue the investigation.
Gorman was shot dead near a pier in Chicago's Roger Park neighborhood on Thursday while walking with friends. Jose Medina, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and other charges, according to police on Sunday.
Medina, a Venezuelan native living in the United States illegally, was freed twice following run-ins with the law: once in May 2023 and again the following month after being detained by local police for shoplifting.
Hadden said Chicago student shooter was maybe “unintentionally startled” and suggested that the group may have “unintentionally startled” an armed individual at the end of the pier.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the shooting was targeted or random, however, investigators believe that Medina opened fire on Gorman in an ambush.
Hadden further implied that the incident was not a matter of “broader community concern.”
Gorman's family was “shattered” by the news “in a way no family should ever have to endure." Her family called Gorman “the heart of our family” in a statement.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is urging Chicago to keep Medina behind bars, citing the instance as a component of the broader shortcomings of the current border enforcement system.
They are sending an ICE detainer for Medina's alleged lack of documentation and urging Illinois officials to keep him in jail.
