As President Donald Trump used the “devastating” killing of Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman to justify his push for mass deportations on Monday, the alleged gunman remained hospitalized and missed his initial court hearing later in the day.
Jose G. Medina, a Venezuelan immigrant, was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and illegal gun possession in connection to Thursday’s attack near Tobey Prinz Beach, Cook County court records show.
Trump told reporters Monday that he had been briefed on Gorman’s killing, arguing that the fatal shooting showed there was a need for ramped up immigration enforcement efforts.
“This person came in through the open door policy of [former President] Joe Biden and we have others,” Trump said. “ We’re taking them out by the tens of thousands. We’re doing a great job, but it’s a shame.”
Medina, 25, was wanted on a warrant in a local shoplifting case at the time of his latest arrest.
Gorman’s family said they were “gravely disappointed by the policies and failures that allowed this individual to remain in a position to commit this crime.”
“When systems fail — whether through release decisions, lack of coordination, or unwillingness to act — the consequences are not abstract. They are real,” the family said in a statement.
“And in our case, they are permanent. This case must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of both state and federal law. There can be no gaps, no shortcuts, and no second chances that put others at risk. Accountability must be complete.”
Medina missed court Monday because he’s currently hospitalized with tuberculosis, officials said. Judge Luciano Panici ordered he remain “in custody” pending a full hearing Friday.
Prosecutors provided few additional of the case during Monday’s brief hearing.
Gorman, 18, took a walk to the lakefront just north of Loyola’s campus early Thursday to take pictures of the skyline, prosecutors said. She was the first to reach the end of the pier near Tobey Prinz Beach when she spotted the masked gunman hiding near the lighthouse.
He fired one shot as Gorman and her friends fled, prosecutors said. Gorman was struck in the back — not the head, as police initially reported.
One of Gorman’s friends who witnessed the shooting told the Chicago Sun-Times that “it didn’t seem like it was intentionally targeted toward any of us.”
Video captured Medina walking from the scene into a building in the 6800 block of West Sheridan Road, according to an arrest report. He wore all black clothing and a mask and had a “distinct gait.”
Police recovered black clothing and a .40 caliber handgun inside Medina’s apartment, prosecutors said. The gun matched the shell casing found at the shooting scene.
The arrest report shows police worked closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection during the investigation. CBP, which was integral to the aggressive deportation campaign in Chicago last year, used facial recognition to identify the man in the video as Medina, according to the report.
CBP is a part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which publicly identified Medina as the suspect before charges were approved by Cook County prosecutors. The department also announced that it had issued an arrest detainer for Medina.
DHS said Medina had been taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol in May 2023, released and then arrested again two months later for shoplifting. He had an active warrant in the theft case, court records show.
The Trump administration has used the deaths of other young women to make a case that undocumented immigration puts Americans in danger. However, the efforts to frame crime as the driving force behind its deportation mission have at times been undercut by data and research.
The killing of Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia who was fatally attacked by an immigrant, spurred legislation that mandates detention and strengthens enforcement against undocumented immigrants charged with certain crimes.
Operation Midway Blitz, the pummeling deportation campaign that tore through the Chicago area last fall, was dedicated to Katie Abraham, an Illinois native killed by a drunken driver who allegedly lacked legal status.
“Sheridan Gorman’s life was allegedly taken from her at the hands of a criminal alien shielded by the anti-American sanctuary policies of the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois,” U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said on social media Monday.
Gov. JB Pritzker issued a response Monday, saying, “Violent crime has no place in our streets.”
“We expect the alleged perpetrator to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Pritzker said in a statement. “The Trump Administration needs to stop politicizing heinous tragedies and instead focus on real solutions, like reinstating federal funds to prevent violence that support our public safety efforts.”
Speaking after court Monday, Ald. Ray Lopez (15th) called on the city and state to amend its laws “in a way that makes sense,” while still welcoming “those who want to be here.”
“When you have individuals who choose to engage in dangerous criminal behavior here in this country, if they are non-citizens, we should not give them welcome,” Lopez said. “We should not give them sanctuary.”
Numerous studies have found that immigrants without legal status are less likely to commit serious crimes than U.S.-born citizens.
A 2024 National Institute of Justice-funded study examining data from the Texas Department of Public Safety found that undocumented immigrants are arrested at less than half the rate of native-born U.S. citizens for violent and drug crimes and a quarter the rate of native-born citizens for property crimes.
And according to the Migration and Policy Institute, studies have shown that immigrants do not raise crime rates in the local communities where they settle. The institute cites a study by the University of Massachusetts that connects lower crime activity, including violent crime, with communities that have inclusive immigration policies.