The family of Sheridan Gorman spoke at a press conference on June 1, 2026, demanding that defense attorneys representing their daughter’s killer “stop pretending” that the man who took her life has the brain development of a child after he was caught with a makeshift knife while behind bars. They also put the blame for the young woman’s death on Democratic sanctuary city policies that allowed a dangerous criminal illegal to be on the streets of Chicago.
Jose Medina, a 26-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela, is accused of fatally shooting Sheridan Gorman, a first-year Loyola University Chicago student. Medina was found with a 6-inch shank last week while being detained at Cook County Jail, according to information from the county sheriff’s office. The discovery of the weapon was not discussed during a brief hearing on June 1 in the murder case.
However, Gorman’s surviving family members expressed their anger through tearful remarks delivered after Medina’s appearance in court. “Correctional officers recovered the sharpened metal weapon from him after receiving information that other inmates feared for their safety,” Gorman’s father, Thomas Gorman, went on to say during the press conference on Monday.
“So let’s stop pretending this man is harmless and has the mentality of a child. He was a danger outside and he is apparently a danger inside,” Gorman said, according to a report from the Chicago-Sun Times. Public defenders representing Medina have stated that the suspect has a developmental disability from a gunshot wound he sustained during a robbery gone wrong in Colombia.
Medina’s attorneys claim he has the “brain development of a child.” The public defender’s office said “it’s not unusual for people being held at Cook County Jail to feel the need to protect themselves.” Assistant public defender Julie Koehler added, “Medina walks with a limp, suffers from seizures, is missing a portion of his brain and cannot read or write.”
“He has recently been moved from the jail hospital into a more populated area, and any disabled person like him would be searching for a way to protect himself. Ms. Sheridan’s family is grieving the tragic loss of their child and they understandably want her story to create change,” Koehler said. “But the sad reality is that Mr. Medina is severely disabled, and all the evidence supports that fact.”
Medina was charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder and weapons charges in the deadly incident on March 19, 2026. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. Sheridan Gorman, along with a group of her friends, were taking a walk toward the end of the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach when they saw Medina hiding in the shadows. As the group tried to run away, Medina fired one shot, hitting Gorman in the back and killing her.
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“Forty feet — that’s how far my daughter ran for her life before evil caught her,” her mother, Jessica Gorman, said during the press conference. “Did she know that death was behind her? Was she crying out for me?” She then added, “I will never know, but I know that my baby died scared.”
“Jose Medina is responsible for what he did to Sheridan, but he did not get to Sheridan himself,” Thomas Gorman told members of the press. “He got there through a broken system, through failed border enforcement, failed removal policies, failed local cooperation, and sanctuary policies that put ideology before safety.”
“Let me be very clear about something: We love immigrants,” he added. “We deeply respect legal immigration. … But criminal illegal immigration is different, and American families deserve to be protected in their own country.” Gorman’s tragic slaying has brought the fight over immigration enforcement back into focus in Chicago, as President Donald Trump, along with conservative critics, join Gorman in placing the blame for the incident on liberal sanctuary policies.
Featured Image: screenshot from embedded video