*A Chicago alderwoman is under fire after remarks she made in the immediate aftermath of a college student’s murder drew accusations of excusing the killer’s actions. Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago freshman, was fatally shot on Thursday, March 19, while she and a group of friends were out along the lakefront near campus in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
Democrat Alderwoman Maria Hadden, who represents the 49th Ward, sat down with Fox 32 Chicago shortly after the killing and offered commentary that would soon ignite a firestorm. “From what I’ve been told so far, right, from what police know from speaking to the students who were with her, it seems she might have that, as they were just out, you know, people go out to the beach all the time, right, and they go out on the pier, they walk around, so that the kids were out doing normal, normal things people do in the neighborhood, and it sounds like this might have been a wrong place, wrong time, running into a person who had a gun,” Hadden said, per CWB Chicago.
Maria Hadden, a Chicago Alderwoman and a self-described “queer & progressive champion”, says Sheridan Gorman was m*rdered because she “might’ve startled the migrant who k*lled her.”
This is who’s running your city.pic.twitter.com/mGVGrHvpJe https://t.co/xovoJuw4s9
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 23, 2026
She went on to add, “They might have startled this person at the end of the pier unintentionally. But that’s all we know.”
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The remarks spread rapidly online, with many critics arguing Hadden was manufacturing sympathy for the shooter at the expense of the victim. CWB Chicago responded on X, writing, “Imagine being an alderman, having a college freshman murdered in your ward, and, before the suspect is even identified, posting a video in which you brainstorm an excuse that maybe the victim ‘startled’ the guy who killed her. God Almighty.”
The criticism deepened once police accounts emerged showing the gunman had followed Gorman and her companions from behind before opening fire as the group tried to run — a detail that sharply undermined Hadden’s framing of the encounter. Authorities took 25-year-old Venezuelan national Jose Medina-Medina into custody the following day, apprehending him at a residence situated just blocks from the scene. He was formally charged with Gorman’s murder by Monday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson did not hold back in his assessment of the political response to Gorman’s death. “Sadly, there will be no Democrats marching in the streets for Sheridan Gorman. They won’t even talk about her today,” he said. “I promise you they won’t even bring it up. No one holding signs demanding justice for her killer. It’s among the most shameful episodes we have ever seen. They cannot even bring themselves to say that this shouldn’t have happened.”
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, separately, declined to offer an apology to Gorman’s family when pressed during a press conference.
? SPEAKER JOHNSON JUST DROPPED TRUTH NUKE: “Sadly, there will be NO Democrats marching in the streets for Sheridan Gorman. They won’t even talk about her today!”
“I PROMISE you they won’t even bring it up. No one holding signs demanding justice for her k*ller. It’s among the… pic.twitter.com/eiNIFCEeQT
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 25, 2026
With pressure mounting, Hadden published a lengthy statement on social media attempting to clarify her position while also pushing back on how her words had been framed by certain outlets. “In an effort to make sense of a senseless situation, I said things that landed wrong with some people,” she wrote.
“My comments were never intended to blame the victim or to imply that Sheridan should not have been out enjoying the park or that it was her fault that she was shot. I sincerely apologize for any additional pain that my comments may have caused,” Hadden added. She also wrote, “The fact that some media outlets are intentionally creating sound bites to misconstrue my words during this tragedy is also unfortunate.”
Gorman’s family has established a GoFundMe campaign to create the Sheridan Gorman Memorial and Scholarship Fund in her honor.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson (D) REFUSES to apologize to the family of 18yo Sheridan Gorman, who was reportedly M*RDERED by a criminal illegal alien in his city.
His sanctuary polices PROTECT foreign criminals.
DISGUSTINGpic.twitter.com/RMdWu7a0uK https://t.co/xovoJuw4s9
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 24, 2026
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