Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis is mourning the death of Sheridan Gorman and sharply criticizing at the sanctuary city policies he says led to her death.
Kenosha County District Attorney Xavier Solis is speaking out about the murder of a Loyola University student in Chicago, mourning her death and blasting the sanctuary city policies that he says helped cause it.
“The Kenosha County District Attorney’s Office mourns the tragic death of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student who had her whole life ahead of her,” Solis said in a statement. “Her murder is a devastating loss for her family, friends, and the Loyola community.”
Gorman was fatally shot in the head Thursday while walking with friends near Tobey Prinz Beach in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, less than one mile from campus. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her suspected killer, Jose Medina-Medina, is a 25-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela who entered the U.S. in May 2023 during the Biden Administration’s unprecedented wave of illegal migration. He was arrested at the border but released into the interior of the United States.
The following month, he was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago and released again.
“This crime occurred in Chicago, a sanctuary city that protects illegal aliens,” Solis said. “Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance remains in force and limits cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“Chicago is just south of Kenosha County, and what happens there does not stay there. Failed policies in a neighboring major city can have consequences throughout our region, including here in Kenosha County.”
Chicago Police say a masked man approached Gorman and her friends early Thursday morning and started firing at them. It is not clear whether Gorman was the intended target.
Medina-Medina was arrested a short time later and charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.
“This is exactly why crimes committed by illegal aliens must be taken seriously from the very beginning,” Solis noted. “Retail theft and other so-called lower-level ‘non-violent’ offenses are not harmless. They are often signs of continued lawlessness, disregard for our laws, and escalating danger to the public.”
Solis affirmed his office’s stance on sanctuary city policies and cooperation with federal law enforcement.
“In Kenosha County, my office will continue to work closely with our jail and cooperate with federal law enforcement authorities such as ICE, consistent with the law, to ensure detainers are placed and that dangerous offenders are not simply released back into our communities. Protecting the public must come first. Kenosha County will not be a safe haven for illegal aliens, and we will not apologize for protecting our community.”
