DHS says suspect in Loyola student’s slaying was Biden-era catch and release

The illegal immigrant accused of killing Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman entered the US during the Biden administration before he was caught and released into the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Sunday.

DHS also confirmed that Jose Medina-Medina, 25, who is originally from Venezuela, was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago, marking a previous criminal incident before the alleged murder.

He was placed in isolation because of a potentially contagious condition — possibly tuberculosis — according to Chicago Police Department sources.

A police source also told Fox News that Thursday’s shooting was an ambush, and the gunman was reportedly wearing a mask or covered his face. Medina-Medina is believed to have lived in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago.

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Investigators have since recovered a gun believed to be related to the murder, sources said, and are awaiting the results of a gunshot residue test.

DHS said in a statement Sunday that Medina-Medina was first detained by the US Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, and was released from the country during the Biden administration.

He was later arrested in Chicago on June 19, 2023, for shoplifting and released – marking a previous criminal incident before the alleged murder.

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Sheridan Gorman, the Loyola University Chicago student who was shot and killed near campus, is pictured near the school’s Lake Shore Campus in Rogers Park. (Alyssa Schukar for The Washington Post via Getty Images / Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) also announced that it has detained a prisoner and asked Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Chicago city leaders not to release Medina-Medina.

“Jose Medina-Medina was previously released after being arrested for shoplifting in Chicago,” DHS said.

“Sheridan Gorman had his whole life ahead of him before this killer made the decision to end his life,” said Acting Secretary Lauren Bis.

“We are asking Gov. JB Pritzker and the politicians of Chicago to pledge not to release this illegal criminal from prison back to American soil.”

The agency also pointed to broader concerns, noting that ICE has urged Illinois officials to honor the arrests of thousands of illegal aliens in custody.

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Jose Medina-Medina, who is originally from Venezuela, was arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, DHS confirmed. (DHS)

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, Gorman, who is new to Westchester County, New York, was shot in the head after a gunman approached a group of friends walking in front of a Chicago lake and opened fire.

When he tried to run away, he shot him. Gorman was pronounced dead at the scene, and no other injuries were reported.

The suspect was reportedly identified shortly after the incident, due to his limp, according to local records. The investigation is ongoing.

One month before Medina-Medina is to be caught at the border and released to the US in 2023, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified on Capitol Hill that the border is secure. “It is my testimony that the border is secure,” said Mayorkas.

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Sheridan Gorman, a native of New York, was reportedly a few months away from completing his freshman year at Loyola University Chicago in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)

“We once again faced an unbearable truth: our daughter’s life was taken, and our family will never be the same,” Sheridan Gorman’s family said in a statement.

“Sheridan was the heart of our family. He had the rare ability to bring people together—to make others feel included, understood and loved. He lived with purpose, faith, and grace that defined who he was every day. He was just beginning his journey, with so much ahead of him.”

Gorman’s family also said, “Three days ago, our lives were disrupted in a way that no family should have to endure.”

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Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to members of the media at Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen during the primary election in Chicago, Illinois, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. The Senate Democratic primary in Illinois to choose a successor to Senator Dick Durbin could open up campaign dollars and differences in immigration policy. (Credit: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

However, Alderwoman Maria Hadden suggested to Fox 32 Chicago that the incident appeared to be a case of Sheridan Gorman being “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Hadden said there was no indication of a widespread threat, adding that “we do not believe there is cause for widespread public concern.”

“The children were out doing normal things that people do in the area,” she said. “They may have been in the wrong place at the wrong time, they met someone with a gun.”

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“They may have accidentally startled this person at the end of the street,” he added. “We do not believe there is cause for widespread public concern,” he confirmed.