After her accused killer was discovered in jail with a homemade knife after allegedly shooting and killing their daughter, the family of a Chicago college student denounced the city.
Jose Medina, a 25-year-old immigrant who is charged with shooting and killing 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, a first-year student at Loyola University Chicago, on March 19, was allegedly apprehended with a knife.
While incarcerated at Cook County Jail, Medina was found in possession of a six-inch shank, an improvised sharp weapon, according to the county sheriff’s office.
The sheriff’s office continued, “Correctional officers searched him and found a sharpened piece of metal with a handle fashioned out of medical tape from his pants pocket.”
Gorman’s family was incensed by the news, accusing Medina’s legal team of “pretending” he has a developmental disability.
The Chicago Sun-Times noted that the weapon found in Medina was conspicuously absent from Monday’s murder case hearing.
The victim’s father, Thomas Gorman, stated on Monday that “correctional officers recovered the sharpened metal weapon from him after receiving information that other inmates feared for their safety.”
So let’s stop acting like this man is innocuous and has a childlike mindset. It seems that he poses a threat both inside and outside.
According to the site, the Venezuelan migrant’s attorneys have claimed that Medina has a developmental handicap as a result of being shot in the head during a robbery in Colombia.
Jose Medina, a 25-year-old immigrant who is suspected of shooting and killing 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman on March 19, was allegedly found in possession of a knife.
Gorman, a first-year student at Loyola University Chicago, alerted her classmates when she saw the murderer, who then shot her dead in the back while the group fled.
Speaking, Thomas Gorman, Gorman’s father, accused Medina’s legal team of “pretending” he has a developmental disability because he was shot in the head in Colombia.
Before being arrested at the border in Texas, Medina’s legal defense asserted that he fled to Colombia from Venezuela because of violence.
While Medina was being held in Cook County Jail, a six-inch shank—a homemade sharp weapon—was found in his hands.
The migrant then requested to be deported back to Colombia, but Texas officials bused him to Chicago in 2023, according to his attorneys, the site reported.
The accused murderer has the “brain development of a child,” according to his legal team.
During the hearing, Assistant Public Defender Julie Koehler stated that Cook County Jail inmates frequently feel the need to defend themselves.
“Medina is unable to read or write, has a limp, experiences seizures, and has a missing part of his brain,” Koehler stated.
“Any disabled person like him would be looking for a way to protect himself after being moved from the jail hospital into a more populated area.”
The bereaved family’s emotional state following the “tragic loss of their child” was noticed by Koehler, who stated that they “understandably” want her narrative to inspire change.
She continued, “But the sad truth is that Medina is severely disabled, and all the evidence supports that fact.”
Gorman’s family stated they had lost faith in her safety and that she “made people feel seen, safe, and loved.”
We adore her, and she has always expressed her affection for us. She is sorely missed. Gorman’s family earlier stated, “All we want is justice,” while addressing at Rockland Community College in New York.
Gorman’s father has blamed his daughter’s murder on “broken” immigration and judicial procedures.
Last month, Medina entered a not guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons in connection with Gorman’s untimely death.
Prosecutors claimed that Gorman, a native of New York, was with friends at the pier on Lake Michigan at around 1:30 in the morning when they noticed Medina, who at the time had an active theft warrant, loitering in the dark.
They further said that the migrant, who is currently being charged with possessing contraband in jail, fired once at the young group while they were fleeing, killing Gorman in the back.
“That’s how far my daughter ran for her life before evil caught her,” Jessica Gorman, Gorman’s mother, stated in an impact statement during the hearing on Monday.
Was she aware that death had passed her by? Was she pleading with me? I’ll never find out. However, I am aware that my infant died fearfully.
According to Gorman’s parents, their daughter probably saved the rest of the group by alerting her companions to the danger before she was slain.
Sheridan was a lovely, resilient child who enjoyed dancing and singing. In a previous statement, the family added, “We love her very much and she always told us that she loved us. Every Friday night was movie night and we spent wonderful times together.” She is sorely missed. Justice is all we desire.
In an impact statement, Jessica Gorman, Gorman’s mother, said, “Did she know that death was behind her?” Was she pleading with me? I’ll never find out. However, I am aware that my infant died frightened.
Last month, Medina entered a not guilty plea to charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder, and weapons in connection with Gorman’s untimely death.
They said they lost faith in her safety because she “made people feel seen, safe, and loved.”
Gorman’s father has blamed his daughter’s murder on “broken” immigration and judicial procedures.
According to the Sun-Times, he stated, “Jose Medina is accountable for what he did to Sheridan, but he did not get to Sheridan himself. 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: We love immigrants,” he continued. “We have the utmost respect for lawful immigration.”However, criminal illegal immigration is distinct, and American families ought to be safeguarded within their own nation.
President Donald Trump took notice of the tragedy and publicly blamed former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies for allowing Medina to stay in the nation.
“A precious 18-year-old college student named Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed while walking in a park, innocently,” Trump stated last month at the annual fundraiser dinner for the National Republican Congressional Committee.
President Donald Trump took notice of the killing and used the occasion to publicly blame former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies for allowing Medina to stay in the nation. He said, “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 also criticized Chicago’s sanctuary city policies and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
The assassination was later described by Trump as “devastating.” “Biden allowed these people to enter.” He pledged, “We’re getting them out quickly.”
Illinois officials have retaliated, calling the case a “terrible tragedy” and claiming that the state’s shortcomings are a reflection of larger national problems, such as the absence of comprehensive immigration reform.
“I don’t care what side of the political aisle people are on, or is right in the middle like us,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said, criticizing federal enforcement objectives for failing to reflect public safety realities. This is not possible. “We need to change,” Jessica Gorman stated to CBS News.
On July 7, Medina is scheduled to appear in court again.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by The Daily Mail for comment.
