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Sheridan Gorman: Chicago councilwoman Maria Hadden's ‘wrong place' remark sparks row
Maria Hadden's comments on the fatal shooting of Sheridan Gorman seem to blame the victim as DHS urges to keep Jose Medina in jail.
Comments by Chicago alderwoman Maria Hadden on the fatal shooting of Sheridan Gorman appear to have shifted the blame onto the victim, as authorities continue the investigation.
Gorman was shot dead near a pier in Chicago's Roger Park neighborhood on Thursday while walking with friends. Jose Medina, 25, was charged with first-degree murder and other charges, according to police on Sunday.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan native living in the United States illegally, was freed twice following run-ins with the law: once in May 2023 and again the following month after being detained by local police for shoplifting.
Read more: Sheridan Gorman: 5 things to know on Jose Medina-Medina, illegal arrested
Hadden said Chicago student shooter was maybe “unintentionally startled”
Hadden, who represents the 49th Ward, addressed the incident in an interview with Fox, saying the group involved were “doing normal things people do in the neighborhood” and that the shooting may have been a “wrong-place, wrong-time situation.”
In her statement, Hadden suggested that the group may have “unintentionally startled” an armed individual at the end of the pier.
Authorities have yet to confirm whether the shooting was targeted or random. However, according to KTSA, the investigators believe that Medina opened fire on Gorman in an ambush. Gorman was declared dead at the scene after being hit in the head while attempting to escape.
Hadden further implied that the incident was not a matter of “broader community concern.”
Gorman's family was “shattered” by the news “in a way no family should ever have to endure." Her family called Gorman “the heart of our family” in a statement.
Read more: Loyola shooting: Sheridan Gorman case; 5 things to know as cops make arrest
DHS urges Chicago to keep Medina behind bars
According to DHS, Medina was taken into custody for shoplifting in Chicago in 2023 after entering the US illegally. An arrest warrant was filed when Medina failed to appear in court for the retail theft charge, according to court documents.
Medina-Medina is currently accused of six charges, including first-degree murder in connection with Gorman's shooting death.
The instance was denounced by DHS as a component of the broader shortcomings of the current border enforcement system. They are sending an ICE detainer for Medina's alleged lack of documentation and urging Illinois officials to keep him in jail.
According to KTSA, Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. said, "We are calling on Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago’s sanctuary politicians to commit to not releasing this criminal illegal alien from jail back into American neighborhoods.”
She further sympathized with Gorman's death and said, “Sheridan Gorman had her whole life ahead of her before this cold-blooded killer decided to end her life.”
