Suspect in slaying of Loyola University student was in the country illegally, officials say
NBC News • • nation
Key Points:
- Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University student, was fatally shot near her school in Chicago, with suspect Jose Medina, 25, arrested on multiple gun-related charges.
- Medina, a Venezuelan national, was in the U.S. illegally, having been previously apprehended and released by U.S. Border Patrol, and was recently released after a shoplifting arrest in Chicago.
- The Department of Homeland Security and Gorman's family criticized open border policies and sanctuary city decisions, blaming systemic failures for allowing Medina to remain in the country and commit the crime.
- The case is likely to influence the national immigration debate, drawing parallels to the 2024 murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley by another Venezuelan illegal immigrant.
- Riley’s family has expressed a desire to keep her case out of political debates, emphasizing the personal and permanent consequences of such tragedies.
