Democrat Alderwoman Maria Hadden suggested that Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman, 18, who was shot dead on 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 deadly shooting appeared to be a case of Gorman being “in the wrong place at the wrong time, running into a person who had a gun,” in an interview with Fox 32 Chicago.
“They might have unintentionally startled this person at the end of the pier,” she added. “We don’t believe there is cause for broader community concern.”
An illegal Venezuelan migrant, 25-year-old Jose Medina-Medina, was arrested and charged with the killing.
Chicago Democrat Hadden ripped over 'garbage' comment
Hadden’s comments came despite police reports that Gorman’s killer stalked her from behind for some time before shooting her at point-blank range and fleeing the scene.
Hadden was accused of having “pretty much blamed Sheridan Gorman for her own murder” by one X user.
“These people are sick!” the user added.
Another X user accused Hadden of “downplaying the murder of an American citizen in defense of a Venezuelan gangbanging invader.”
“Blaming the victim for startling the armed illegal invader? You, Maria Hadden, are garbage,” wrote a third.
"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," reader-funded public safety news outlet CWB Chicago posted on X. "God Almighty."
"This is disgusting," comedian Tim Young posted on X.
