Democratic Rep. Maria Hadden suggested that Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman, 18, who was shot and killed Thursday morning while walking with friends along the city’s lakefront near campus, was “in the wrong place at the wrong time.”Hadden said the fatal shooting appeared to be the result of Gorman being “in the wrong place at the wrong time, running into someone who had a gun,” in an interview with Fox 32 Chicago.“They may have inadvertently startled this person at the end of the pier,” she added. “We do not believe there is cause for broader societal concern.”An illegal Venezuelan immigrant, 25-year-old Jose Medina Medina, has been arrested and charged with murder.
Haden, a Democrat from Chicago, blasted the “trash” comment.
Hadden’s comments came despite police reports that Gorman’s killer chased her from behind for some time before shooting her at close range and fleeing the scene.Hadden was accused of “largely blaming Sheridan Gorman for her murder” by an X user.“These people are sick!” added the user.Another X user accused Haden of “downplaying the killing of an American citizen in defense of Venezuelan invaders.”
“Blaming the victim to terrorize illegal armed invaders? Maria Haden, you are just trash,” a third wrote.
“Imagine you are an alderman, you kill a college freshman in your ward, and before the suspect is identified, you release a video in which you make the excuse that the victim may have ‘startled’ the man who killed her,” reader-funded public safety news outlet CWB Chicago posted on X. “God Almighty.” “This is disgusting,” comedian Tim Young posted on X.