Overview
- Federal prosecutors, who announced the move Thursday, charged Jose Medina-Medina with illegal firearm possession based on his lack of lawful U.S. status.
- Chicago police found a Smith & Wesson .40-caliber pistol in a court-approved search the day after the shooting, and an ATF analyst said the gun matched shell casings from the pier.
- He remains held in Cook County without bond on state counts including first-degree murder, and no federal court date has been set as an ICE detainer also seeks to keep him in custody.
- Prosecutors say he hid near the Loyola Park pier on March 19 and shot 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman in the back as her friends ran from a masked figure in dark clothing.
- Federal filings say he was born in Venezuela and was encountered by Border Patrol in May 2023, and the case has widened a national fight over immigration policy that has reached the White House.