Saturday, family and friends bid a final farewell to Sheridan Gorman, the 18-year-old Loyola University student shot and killed last week in Chicago.
After the private funeral and burial, the grieving family joined their Yorktown, New York, community to celebrate their daughter’s life.
“A beacon of light”
Several hundred gathered at Jack DeVito Memorial Field to pay tribute to Gorman’s life.
From her high school field hockey coach to family friends, their stories ran on one common thread:Â the Yorktown native was beloved. Â
“Sheridan was a beacon of light. She was the heart of her team,” filed hockey coach Courtney Heimen said.
“Whether it was a kind word, a laugh, or just her presence, she had a way of lifting people up,” said Maria O’Connell, with the Yorktown Athletic Club.
Even complete strangers felt compelled enough by the loss to take part in Saturday’s vigil.
“It’s just beautiful that people that don’t even know each other just want to be there for each other and come out and just say, hey, we’re thinking of you,” Yorktown resident Lucy Bishena said.
As the community continues to mourn, they made clear that they want justice.
The Yorktown, New York, community gathered on March 28, 2026, to celebrate the life of Sheridan Gorman, who was shot and killed while attending college in Chicago.
CBS News New York
“Thank you for loving her”
In what was their first public appearance since the shooting, the Gorman family took to the stage for an emotional tribute to their daughter, revealing the toll her loss has taken.
“Sheridan, she was our joy. Our collective joy, and now that joy is gone,” father Thomas Gorman said, “but standing here tonight, looking at you all … that joy didn’t just last in our home, it lives here.”
“If there’s anything we can all do in her honor, it’s this — love people like Sheridan, loudly, freely, without holding back,” mother Jessica Gorman said.
The family expressed their gratitude to the community that has rallied around them at a time it’s needed the most.
“To everyone here, thank you for loving her. Thank you for knowing her the way we did,” sister Madelon Gorman said.
The latest in the case
Gorman was just six months into her college journey at Loyola University in Chicago when her life was cut short.
The freshman was gunned down on March 19 as she walked with her friends near a pier.
Jose Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan migrant, has since been charged in the murder.