President Donald Trump has spoken with the family of Sheridan Gorman, the college freshman who was allegedly fatally shot by an illegal immigrant roaming Chicago earlier this month, a White House official told The Daily Wire Monday.
Gorman was allegedly shot and killed as she tried to run from crazed Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Medina-Medina. The Loyola University student was walking with friends to see the Northern Lights around 1 a.m. on March 19 when she was fatally shot, her family said.
Medina, 25, was released after crossing the southern border illegally in May 2023 before he turned up in Chicago, where he’s accused of shoplifting from a Macy’s that June, according to the Chicago Tribune.
The Venezuelan national never appeared for a hearing in the earlier case, leading a judge to issue a warrant for his arrest.
Days after the killing, Trump slammed the Biden administration’s “open door” policies for Medina’s release.
“It’s devastating. These people were let in by Biden. We’re getting them out. We’re getting them out fast. That’s why ICE is so important. They are doing such a good job,” Trump told Daily Wire reporter Mary Margaret Olohan. “This animal, I saw the whole thing last night. They gave me a briefing.”
Here is Sheridan Gorman’s mom, Jessica, speaking about her daughter at a community vigil last night.
It’s nearly impossible to watch—every mother can feel her anguish, devastation, fury, and promise to find justice for her daughter.
And we will help her fight: pic.twitter.com/42ZZhEmHEC
— Julie Kelly 🇺🇸 (@julie_kelly2) March 29, 2026
Gorman’s grieving mother, Jessica, delivered an emotional speech during a Saturday vigil for her late daughter.
“I want to say this gently, but honestly, as a mom, I’m angry,” Jessica Gorman said as she fought back tears. “I’m like completely heartbroken, and we are going to fight for justice for our sweet Sheridan, and we’re going to fight for change.”
“But we know, not everyone will see it the same way we do and not everyone will approach it the way we will, and that’s okay,” Jessica said, adding, “At the heart of all of this, we all want the same thing — for your children and for ours to be safe, to be protected, and to come home. Because, at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. All of our kids, every single one of them, protecting them, loving them, showing up for them. And that is how we honor her.”
The family has criticized the responses of Democratic Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, along with Democratic Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, to Gorman’s tragic slaying.
Initially, Johnson said he planned to eventually speak with the family.
It is not clear whether or not that’s happened, as his office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Pritzker’s office also didn’t immediately respond when asked if the Democratic official had spoken with Gorman’s family.
Medina appeared in court Friday. His initial hearing was delayed due to his hospitalization for tuberculosis.
The illegal immigrant’s defense has pointed to a 2018 incident where Medina was shot in the head while being robbed in Colombia, according to WGN. The public defender presented a photo appearing to show Medina with a dent in his forehead, arguing that he is developmentally delayed and can’t read or write.
At one point, Medina asked to go back to Colombia, but was sent on a bus to Chicago, his attorney said. It was at a Windy City migrant shelter where he contracted tuberculosis.
Medina’s mother came to Chicago “to care for him” and lived with him in a shelter near Loyola’s campus, according to WGN.
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