Loyola student, 18, used her final breath to save her terrified friends just seconds before being gunned down by illegal migrant by Chicago river, parents reveal

Published: 05:03, 23 April 2026 | Updated: 05:03, 23 April 2026 The parents of an 18-year-old college student revealed that their daughter used her last moments to warn her friends to run before she was gunned down by an illegal migrant in Chicago. Jessica and Thomas Gorman revealed the gut-wrenching events of the night they lost their daughter, Sheridan. Sheridan, a freshman at Loyola, was walking with her friends along a pier on Lake Michigan at around 1.30am on March 19 when she encountered a masked man clad in black. 'He, like, moved towards her threateningly,' her mother told CBS News. 'She turned around and she warned her friends that there was a man with a gun and you need to run. And they ran.' Thomas said his daughter ran about 40ft before she was shot in the back and neck. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Jose Medina-Medina, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, has been charged with murdering the young woman. According to the Department of Homeland Security, Medina was apprehended by US Border Patrol while crossing the border in May 2023 but was subsequently released into the country. Sheridan Gorman's parents, Thomas and Jessica Gorman, described how their daughter, Sheridan warned her friends that was a gunman moments before she was killed Sheridan Gorman, 18, was struck in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene while walking with friends near Chicago's lakefront last month José Medina, a 26-year-old Venezuelan man who illegally entered the country in May 2023, is now facing felony charges of first-degree murder and aggravated use of a firearm DHS also confirmed that Medina was arrested for shoplifting at a Macy's in Chicago roughly one month after entering the US. Chicago police believe the incident was a random shooting, according to the outlet. The Gormans were told that their daughter's warning likely saved her friends' lives. 'Presumably, that's what we heard,' Jessica said. 'They say it was a senseless tragedy. It wasn't. It was a murder. It was a preventable murder.' Julie Koehler, a public defender who is Medina's lawyer, said in a statement to CBS News that her client had been shot in the head in 2018 during a robbery in Colombia. 'He survived but lost a portion of his brain and his skull, leaving him with the mental capacity of a child,' she said. However, the Gormans believe that Medina had the mental capacity to allegedly kill their daughter. The Gormans were told that their daughters warning likely saved lives Gorman's death was also brought up several times during White House press conferences 'He had the mental capacity and the wherewithal to buy a gun, to have a mask on, and to be waiting,' Jessica said, told the outlet. 'The mask was on, and he had a gun pointed at my daughter when she passed him.' The killing has drawn the attention of President Donald Trump, who took the opportunity to publicly blame former President Joe Biden's immigration policies for allowing Medina to remain in the country. 'A precious 18-year-old college student named Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed while walking in a park, innocently,' Trump said during remarks last month at the National Republican Congressional Committee's annual fundraising dinner. 'The illegal alien monster charged with Sheridan's murder had come illegally from Venezuela and had been released into our country by Sleepy Joe Biden,' he continued, while also criticizing Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago's sanctuary city policies. Trump later called the killing 'devastating'. 'These people were let in by Biden… We're getting them out fast,' he promised. Officials in Illinois have pushed back, with Governor Pritzker describing the case as a 'terrible tragedy' while arguing that failures extend beyond the state and reflect broader national issues, including the lack of comprehensive immigration reform. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson also criticized federal enforcement priorities, saying they do not reflect public safety realities. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.