Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman was murdered last week, allegedly at the hands of a Venezuelan migrant who was bused to the city during the height of the border crisis.
After reporting on the murder, Loyola’s student newspaper, The Loyola Phoenix, apologized for its Instagram post calling the suspected killer of 18-year-old Gorman an “illegal immigrant.”
Gorman, a freshman from New York, was gunned down while walking with a group of friends early Thursday, March 19, near Tobey Prinz Beach in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood. She and her friends went to the end of the pier to get a better look at the city and, according to her family, possibly even the Northern Lights.
Police later identified the masked suspect as Jose G. Medina-Medina, 25, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who entered the U.S. during President Joe Biden’s administration and was bused to Chicago in 2023.
Sheridan Gorman was failed by open-border policies and sanctuary politicians who RELEASED this illegal alien TWICE before he carried out this heinous murder.
On May 9, 2023, Medina-Medina was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and released into the country under the Biden… pic.twitter.com/s6v57GPwyu
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 23, 2026
NBC 5 Chicago reported that the suspect was hiding behind a lighthouse on a pier before he came out and shot Gorman in the back. Her friends fled and hid. Gorman was pronounced dead at the scene.
As word spread about the suspect’s identity and immigration status, The Loyola Phoenix backpedaled and Lilli Malone, the editor-in-chief, issued a note over a headline shared in a social media post.
“On March 23, a post on The Phoenix’s Instagram page carried the following headline: ‘Immigrant Man Charged in Murder of Sheridan Gorman, DHS Involved,’” the editor’s note, posted below a Sunday article about Gorman’s murder, read.
The note continued: “That headline didn’t reflect the most important elements in the story, and it was taken down minutes later to prevent any further harm to affected community members.”
The editor said the newspaper used language provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A Sunday press release from DHS called the alleged killer “a criminal illegal alien from Venezuela.”
The Loyola Phoenix said the term “illegal immigrant” doesn’t align with Associated Press style, which offers style guidelines commonly used by most news organizations, nor does it align with the values of the newspaper.
“No human’s existence is illegal, and we quickly changed our wording to reflect that,” the editor’s note states. “We acknowledge the harm such language can cause and the power and importance of the words we choose to use. We deeply regret these errors, and we’re committed to continuing the high standards we hold for ourselves as journalists and members of the Loyola, Rogers Park and Chicago communities.”
Backlash over The Phoenix’s apology quickly spread on social media, particularly among conservative commentators and journalists.
“Loyola University newspaper has issued an apology in the wake of the murder of freshman Sheridan Gorman…ostensibly to her accused murderer,” Jonathan Turley, a law professor, columnist and FOX News contributor, shared on X. “The Phoenix was sorry for calling Jose Medina-Medina an ‘illegal immigrant’ instead of a ‘Rogers Park Resident’…”
Loyola University newspaper has issued an apology in the wake of the murder of freshman Sheridan Gorman…ostensibly to her accused murderer. The Phoenix was sorry for calling Jose Medina-Medina an "illegal immigrant" instead of a "Rogers Park Resident"…https://t.co/01UFG9ySL8
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 25, 2026
Journalism professionals have pointed out that the AP Stylebook’s “suggestions” are based more in ideology than precise language.
Others commentators note the legal term for being in the U.S. illegally is “illegal alien” or “illegal immigrant” and said “printing it isn’t rude or wrong—it’s right.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has doubled down on resisting all efforts to have U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the city and, along with Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, tried to deflect blame for Gorman’s murder back on to President Donald Trump.
HOLY SHIT. Illinois Democrat Gov. JB Pritzker, who runs a sanctuary state that PROTECTS criminal illegals, is BLAMING TRUMP following the m*rder of Sheridan Gorman by an illegal alien.
You can't make this sh*t uppic.twitter.com/OZkgdfHkdz https://t.co/xovoJuw4s9
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 24, 2026
“I want to take this moment to reiterate that Chicago does not want ICE on our streets, in our airports, nor in our city,” Johnson said in front of the city’s massive salt dome, per a report by WTTW News. “Chicago believes in abolishing ICE.”
DHS confirmed Medina-Medina was apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol on May 9, 2023, but released. He was then freed from jail on June 19, 2023, following an arrest for shoplifting in Chicago.
He lived in a nearby migrant shelter at the Leone Beach Park fieldhouse in Rogers Park in 2023. After his shoplifting arrest, he never appeared back in court.
A judge issued a warrant for his arrest for failure to appear, but he was never caught prior to last week’s shooting.
Medina was charged by Chicago police with first-degree murder, attempted first degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault/discharge of a firearm and one felony count of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon/no Firearm Owners Identification Card.
According to an arrest report, Chicago police tracked down Medina at a nearby apartment building based on video footage. A male in black clothing, wearing a black mask and walking with a “distinct limp and slow gait” was seen walking from the location of the shooting to Pratt Boulevard
He was seen on video in the building’s lobby waiting for an elevator while he wasn’t masked after the alleged shooting. A building engineer told police that he knew the suspect who had a “very distinct limp and gait.”
The Gorman family has shared several written statements since their daughter’s murder. They have countered claims she was “in the wrong place at the wrong time,” emphasizing she was walking near campus with a group of friends.
The family has criticized Johnson and Pritzker, saying that her death is more than a “senseless tragedy” and “there must be a clear and honest accounting of what went wrong.”
“We are not interested in political arguments or in watching responsibility shift from one place to another,” the family said in another statement. “If there were failures—as the Governor himself has acknowledged—then every one of them must be identified, examined, and addressed directly. The location of those failures matters less than the willingness to confront them honestly.”
