Charges Filed Against Man Arrested in Murder of Sheridan Gorman

The Chicago Police Department (CPD) filed charges March 22 against 25-year-old Rogers Park Resident Jose Medina in relation to the March 19 death of first-year student Sheridan Gorman. Medina was arrested the evening of March 20, The Phoenix reported.

Gorman, 18, was fatally shot around 1 a.m. while walking with a group of friends near the pier at Toby Prinz Beach. Medina allegedly approached the group while wearing a mask and fired in their direction as they ran away. Gorman sustained a shot to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said they didn’t believe she was the intended target, The Phoenix reported.  

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Medina is from Venezuela and was living in the United States illegally. He has a criminal record from a shoplifting incident in June 2023 when he was arrested and released, according to a March 22 report. He was also apprehended once in May 2023 by U.S. Border Patrol but then released. 

DHS released a statement March 22 asking Governor JB Pritzker and other Illinois officials not to release Medina and said ICE has lodged an arrest detainer for Medina. 

Medina was arrested the evening of March 20 two blocks west of the site of the murder in the 6800 Block of North Sheridan Road, according to a news release from CPD. He’ll make his first court appearance March 23 in a detention hearing at 2600 S. California Ave..

Medina is charged with one felony count of first degree murder, one felony count of attempted first degree murder, three felony counts of aggravated assault/discharge firearm and one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and carrying a firearm without a valid Firearm Owners Identification card.

Editor’s Note:

On March 23, a post on The Phoenix’s Instagram page carried the following headline: “Immigrant Man Charged in Murder of Sheridan Gorman, DHS Involved.”

That headline didn’t reflect the most important elements in the story, and it was taken down minutes later to prevent any further harm to affected community members.

Additionally, in the body of the original post, we described the man who was charged as an “illegal immigrant,” using language provided by the Department of Homeland Security. That language does not align with Associated Press style, nor does it align with the values of this newspaper.

No human’s existence is illegal, and we quickly changed our wording to reflect that.

We acknowledge the harm such language can cause and the power and importance of the words we choose to use. We deeply regret these errors, and we’re committed to continuing the high standards we hold for ourselves as journalists and members of the Loyola, Rogers Park and Chicago communities.