Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson declined to comment on 49th Ward Ald. Maria Hadden’s remarks about the fatal shooting of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman, noting the suspect in the case was a Venezuelan immigrant who was in the country without legal status.
Hadden’s remarks in a Facebook video shortly after the shooting drew criticism after she said Gorman “might have startled” her killer, leading him to shoot her in the head at point-blank range, and suggested Gorman might have been in the “wrong place, wrong time.”
49th Ward Ald. Maria Hadden is shown in a video screenshot in which she said
Sheridan Gorman “might have startled” her killer, drawing widespread criticism
for victim-blaming. (Facebook / Alderman Maria Hadden)
During a press conference held on March 31, Amy Jacobson, co-host of The Real Story with Jeanne Ives, confronted Johnson over Hadden’s comments.
“So I have a question, a little bit of a follow-up,” Jacobson said at the conference. “So Alderman Hadden said that Sheridan-Gorman was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What is your response to her comment?”
Johnson did not directly answer.
“Look, I can’t speak for someone else’s comment, right? I can only speak for myself,” Johnson said. “And as I’ve said before, this is a tragedy. A young person was murdered, and a parent or parents and loved ones are laying to rest their loved one. And what I’ve also said repeatedly, as much as this is a tragedy, I do not believe it is healthy to politicize it in a way that makes people believe or think that somehow someone’s political views should be cast at a time in which a family is grieving.”
Jacobson pushed back.
“Yeah, but was Alderman wrong in making that comment?” Jacobson said.
Johnson again declined to directly address the issue.
“I mean, you have to ask her how she feels about her comments,” Johnson said.
Gorman’s death has intensified debates over political accountability, media framing and the city’s role in funding housing and services for illegal immigrants, all while leaving Chicagoans questioning public leadership in the wake of violent crime.
Gorman, 18, was murdered on March 19 in the Rogers Park neighborhood while walking with friends.
Police said the suspect, Jose Medina-Medina, approached the group wearing a mask and armed with a gun, firing as they attempted to flee.
Gorman was struck in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.
Medina-Medina, who crossed the Mexican border in 2023 and was previously detained for shoplifting, was arrested for Gorman’s death on March 20. He now faces multiple felony charges, including first-degree murder.
Reports indicate Medina-Medina was living in a taxpayer-subsidized apartment building funded by RefugeeOne at the time of the shooting.
Hadden’s remarks also drew criticism from observers who say public leaders should clearly condemn victim-blaming in such cases.
“Imagine blaming an 18-year-old girl for being shot in the head while walking with her friends near her college,” X user Gina Milan wrote. “She wasn’t in the wrong place at the wrong time. The only person who didn’t belong there was the illegal alien from Venezuela who never should’ve been in this country to begin with. And the media still finds a way to spin it.”
CWB Chicago added further criticism, condemning Hadden for appearing to excuse the shooter before the investigation was complete.
“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,” CWB Chicago said in a post on X.
Libs of TikTok wrote, “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.”
