The man accused of shooting Yorktown High School graduate Sheridan Gorman near Loyola University Chicago’s campus last month is now facing federal gun charges in addition to a litany of state charges, including first-degree murder.
A Chicago judge also ordered Jose Medina, 25, to provide a DNA sample Wednesday, CBS Chicago reported.
In addition to first-degree murder, Medina is charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and a federal firearm possession charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Medina appeared in a Chicago court April 15.
The shooting occurred shortly after 1 a.m. March 19 in the Rogers Park neighborhood, less than a mile from the college where Gorman was nearing the end of her first year.
According to police, Gorman was walking with friends along the lakefront when Medina, wearing a mask and dressed in black, stepped out from the shadows and opened fire as the group tried to flee. Gorman was struck and killed at the scene. Reports indicated she was not believed to have been the intended target.
According to Chicago-area news outlets, Medina — who is allegedly from Venezuela and in the United States illegally — has been held in custody in Chicago since his initial court appearance March 27. At his April 15 appearance, over objections from Medina’s counsel from the Public Defender’s Office, the judge ordered him to provide a DNA sample to Illinois State Police via a buccal swab, along with fingerprints, for inclusion in the Illinois State Police DNA Indexing Database.
The public defender also requested a trial and submitted a health care order noting a bullet fragment lodged in Medina’s nasal cavity. Counsel also asked that Medina’s medical records be collected from multiple hospitals where he has received treatment, though no specific facilities were identified.
Medina’s public defender also filed a motion requesting court-ordered medical care, CBS Chicago reported, saying Medina has complained of headaches and distress from a bullet fragment lodged in his nasal cavity.
As the Yorktown and Loyola communities continue to seek answers to the tragedy, Gorman’s memory has been honored at home through a vigil at Jack DeVito Veterans Memorial Field & Track, as well as lacrosse games held in her honor.
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