Chicago police are questioning a person of interest in the shooting death of a Loyola University Chicago student who was shot and killed while walking with friends near a beach close to campus.
Authorities said Saturday morning detectives were questioning a person of interest in the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman, of Westchester County, New York. No further information was immediately available.
According to police, at around 2:11 a.m. on Thursday, an 18-year-old woman later identified as Gorman was walking outside near Tobey Prinz Beach with a group of friends when an unknown masked man approached them. The man pulled out a gun and opened fire in the group’s direction.
Gorman sustained a gunshot wound to the head and died at the scene.
In a statement released through an attorney, family members described the 18-year-old as someone who brought warmth and compassion to everyone around her.
“Sheridan was the light of our lives,” the statement read, in part. “She made people feel seen, safe, and loved simply by being who she was. She lived her faith with kindness, compassion, and joy…”
Loyola University Chicago President Mark C. Reed wrote a letter to the campus community following the shooting, calling Gorman’s death “a tragic loss.”
“We are in close contact with law enforcement as they investigate and work to understand the full circumstances of this tragedy,” the letter issued on Thursday morning read, in part. “Based on the information available to us now, there is no ongoing threat to our campus community…”
The shooting has sparked conversations about safety both on and off campus, with some students now reconsidering routines and questioning how to stay safe in a city as large as Chicago.
Some said the incident is especially troubling because it appears Gorman was following common safety guidance.
“She was doing everything right… there was nothing she could have done differently,” another student said.
Anyone with information related to the shooting was encouraged to contact Campus Safety at 773-508-SAFE, or the Chicago Police Department at 911 or 312-744-8263.
