Family says Gorman was shot on Lake Michigan pier; they fault prior federal releases of suspect
April 22, 2026 | Department of State, Executive, Federal
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A relative of Gorman said the student and her friends went to view the Northern Lights on March 19 and, as Gorman reached the end of a pier about 1:30 a.m., "she encountered a masked gunman" who then shot her in the back, striking her neck. The relative said Gorman had run about 40 feet and warned friends to flee before she was shot.
The relative, speaking on the recording, called the shooting "a murder" and said it was preventable. "A child does not do that. A man does not shoot a retreating child in the back," the relative said, criticizing descriptions that the suspect had limited mental capacity.
Police arrested 26-year-old Jose Medina, whom speakers identified as Venezuelan. According to the transcript, the Department of Homeland Security told reporters that Medina was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in May 2023 and released into the country; the transcript also reports that about a month later he was caught shoplifting in Chicago, was arrested and released, and that an arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court.
Family members relayed that Medina's lawyer told them the suspect suffered head injuries in a 2018 robbery in Colombia and "had the mental capacity of a child," a claim the family said did not explain the apparent deliberate nature of the attack. The family urged greater cooperation among local, state and federal authorities, saying the suspect "should have been handed over to the feds" after earlier encounters with law enforcement.
The shooting and the family's statements have prompted public questions about how immigration encounters, local arrests and court appearances are coordinated across agencies. The transcript records those questions but does not include responses from local police, prosecutors or an independent confirmation of the Department of Homeland Security timeline. Police arrested Medina following the incident; the transcript does not list formal charges or a court date.
The relative, speaking on the recording, called the shooting "a murder" and said it was preventable. "A child does not do that. A man does not shoot a retreating child in the back," the relative said, criticizing descriptions that the suspect had limited mental capacity.
Police arrested 26-year-old Jose Medina, whom speakers identified as Venezuelan. According to the transcript, the Department of Homeland Security told reporters that Medina was first apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol in May 2023 and released into the country; the transcript also reports that about a month later he was caught shoplifting in Chicago, was arrested and released, and that an arrest warrant was issued after he failed to appear in court.
Family members relayed that Medina's lawyer told them the suspect suffered head injuries in a 2018 robbery in Colombia and "had the mental capacity of a child," a claim the family said did not explain the apparent deliberate nature of the attack. The family urged greater cooperation among local, state and federal authorities, saying the suspect "should have been handed over to the feds" after earlier encounters with law enforcement.
The shooting and the family's statements have prompted public questions about how immigration encounters, local arrests and court appearances are coordinated across agencies. The transcript records those questions but does not include responses from local police, prosecutors or an independent confirmation of the Department of Homeland Security timeline. Police arrested Medina following the incident; the transcript does not list formal charges or a court date.
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