(José Niño, Headline USA) An illegal alien from Venezuela accused of murdering a Loyola University Chicago freshman entered the United States under the Biden administration and was released under the city’s sanctuary policies before the killing, the Department of Homeland Security announced Sunday.
Jose Medina-Medina, 25, allegedly shot 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman early Thursday morning while she walked along the Chicago lakefront with friends, according to a DHS release obtained by Fox News.
The illegal alien was apprehended and released at the border under President Joe Biden’s administration in May 2023, according to DHS. Medina-Medina was also previously released from local custody in Chicago, a sanctuary city, just a month later after police arrested him for shoplifting from Macy’s.
The gunman approached Gorman, a freshman from Yorktown, New York, while wearing a mask at around 1:30 a.m., according to police. As Gorman attempted to flee, he allegedly shot her in the head before escaping to a nearby apartment building.
“Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “She was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who released this illegal alien twice before he went on to commit this heinous murder.”
“We are calling on Governor Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods,” Bis added.
Gorman’s grieving parents issued a tribute describing their daughter as “deeply loving” and “everyone’s cheerleader.”
A New York state lawmaker condemned the killing as evidence of systemic failure. “Our immigration system is clearly broken and endangering innocent American citizens. No one should be a victim of a system that fails on multiple levels,” State Assemblyman Matt Slater told the New York Post.
Gorman and her friends had ventured out to the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach in the early morning hours to catch a glimpse of the northern lights, according to her family. A masked gunman “emerged from the shadows,” a police report stated. Investigators found a single bullet casing a short distance from Gorman’s body.
“It didn’t seem like it was intentionally targeted toward any of us,” a friend told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It seemed like he was there for a reason, and we were just wrong place, wrong time. I’m guessing, because there was not another shot after that. It was just one.”
No motive has been established for the shooting. The investigation remains open.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
