{"id":178614,"date":"2026-03-29T02:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/178614\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T02:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T02:49:09","slug":"hundreds-pack-nyc-suburb-to-remember-loyola-university-student-sheridan-gorman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/178614\/","title":{"rendered":"Hundreds pack NYC suburb to remember Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman"},"content":{"rendered":"

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY \u2013 The New York teen heinously murdered near her Chicago university<\/a> was remembered as a beloved student-athlete whose faith, joy and positivity lit up everyone around her \u2013 as hundreds packed a public memorial service in her hometown.<\/p>\n

Heartbroken mourners flooded Jack DeVito Memorial Field in Yorktown in the frigid cold Saturday with pictures, pins and personalized jerseys to honor Sheridan Gorman, the 18-year-old Loyola University freshman who was fatally shot by an illegal immigrant<\/a> near a Windy City lakefront on March 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cSheridan, she was our joy, our collective joy, and now that joy has gone,\u201d Gorman\u2019s devastated father, Thomas, told a tearful crowd clad in the town\u2019s green and white colors.<\/p>\n

Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman, 18, was fatally shot by an illegal immigrant in Chicago on March 19. Yorktown NY<\/p>\n

Heartbroken mourners flooded Jack DeVito Memorial Field in Yorktown Saturday to mourn her tragic death Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cBut standing here tonight looking at you all, seeing the green and white, I know something \u2013 that joy didn\u2019t just last in our home. It lives here in this community, and with those beyond our town. We are heartbroken, but we are not alone, and because of you, we are being carried through this.\u201d<\/p>\n

The grieving dad<\/a> was wearing Gorman\u2019s lacrosse jersey while standing beside his wife and daughter at the community vigil.<\/p>\n

They hailed the teen as a confident young woman, a devout Christian, and a standout high school athlete who was a source of light and encouragement to her family and friends.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Memorial vigil program for Sheridan Gorman. Kevin Downs<\/p>\n

They hailed the teen as a confident young woman, a devout Christian, and a high school athlete who was a constant source of light and encouragement to her family and friends.\u00a0 Instagram \/ Sheridan Gorman<\/p>\n

\u201cSheridan was the best of all of us \u2013 she didn\u2019t just cheer for people, she believed in them,\u201d her inconsolable mom, Jessica, told the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe knew something that all of us could stand to remember: that enthusiasm, that positive thinking, that showing up for each other, it doesn\u2019t just win games, it changes lives, and that is exactly what you\u2019re all doing here tonight,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Gorman\u2019s heartbroken family were joined by Yorktown leaders during the community vigil Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

Gorman\u2019s grief-stricken said she is struggling to say goodbye as she\u2019s reminded of all the major milestones she will no longer be able to share with her sibling. Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a mom, I\u2019m angry, I\u2019m completely heartbroken, and we\u2019re gonna fight for justice<\/a> \u2026 because at the heart of all of this, we all want the same thing \u2013 for your children and for ours to be safe, to be protected, to come home \u2026 protecting them, loving them, showing up for them, that is how we honor her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gorman and five friends were on a Chicago pier around 1 a.m. hoping to see the northern lights when a masked gunman allegedly jumped<\/a> out from a hiding spot and fired a single shot that struck her in the head as she tried to flee.<\/p>\n

Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

Jose Medina-Medina<\/a> \u2013 a Venezuelan national who entered the US in 2023 and was later released from jail following a prior bust under sanctuary policies \u2013 was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, weapons charges and related crimes.<\/p>\n

Gorman\u2019s grief-stricken older sister, Maddie \u2014 born just 11 months apart \u2014 said she is struggling to say goodbye as she\u2019s reminded of all the major milestones she will no longer be able to share with her sibling.<\/p>\n

Here is the latest on the killing of Loyola student Sheridan Gorman<\/p>\n

\u201cShe walked into every room like she belonged there because she did, and it wasn\u2019t just that she had confidence, she gave it away,\u201d she said through tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe made people feel like they mattered, like they were included, like they were enough, and she did that for me more than anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

A private funeral service was held earlier in the day at the First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown.<\/p>\n

One mourner wearing a memorial button, leaving her memorial service. Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

A private funeral service was held earlier in the day at the First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown. Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

One couple said Sheridan \u2013 who was cremated \u2013 was always smiling and full of positivity. Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

Friends of Sheridan Gorman leaving her memorial service, one wearing a button with her image. Kevin C Downs for NY Post<\/p>\n

One couple said Sheridan \u2013 who was cremated \u2013 was always smiling and full of positivity, adding that they hope her family and the \u201churting\u201d community gets justice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still can\u2019t believe this, I am in shock,\u201d the mourner told The Post after the service.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially as a parent, I just can\u2019t believe this happened. I want justice for her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY \u2013 The New York teen heinously murdered near her Chicago university was remembered as a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":178615,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[8287,69874,20455,238,9,56,63,65,64,3980,58,1628],"class_list":{"0":"post-178614","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-city","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-loyola","10":"tag-memorials","11":"tag-murders","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-ny","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-nyc-headlines","16":"tag-nyc-news","17":"tag-shootings","18":"tag-us-news","19":"tag-westchester-county"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178614","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=178614"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/178614\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/178615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=178614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=178614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=178614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}