Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman killed in Chicago shooting near lakefront in Rogers Park
An 18-year-old Loyola University student was shot and killed near the lakefront in the Rogers Park neighborhood early Thursday morning.
Chicago police said a woman was walking with a group of friends on Pratt Boulevard near the lakefront around 1:30 a.m. when a masked man walked up and fired shots.
Police said she was shot in the head and died at the scene.
Loyola University President Mark C. Reed confirmed in a message to the university that the victim was Sheridan Gorman, a student at the school and native of Yorktown, New York.
"This is a tragic loss, and our hearts go out to Sheridan's family, loved ones, and all who knew her," Reed wrote.
Gorman was a freshman at Loyola University Chicago. Students said she had just returned from Spring Break and was taking a walk on the pier with three other friends when she was killed.
"I just heard the screaming they were saying come help us," said the student, who did not want to be identified. "We're over here since then I couldn't go back to sleep. It was something I never thought would happen in the community here."
The student, a junior at Loyola, said he believes some of Gorman's friends hid in the grassy area near the pier as the shooter fled.
"I didn't know if it was a Loyola student at the time," he said. "I had my suspicions, so I started listening to police radio."
Audio from police radio obtained by CBS News Chicago shows officers reporting a 911 caller described the shooter as "a man in a ski mask wearing all black."
Loyola University sent out a campus safety alert, notifying students of the fatal shooting. The alert also said the shooter covered their face.
Neighbors were in shock while talking to CBS News Chicago about the shooting.
"Why an 18-year-old girl? I can't imagine what this is like for the family," Rogers Park resident David Fisk said.
There have been increased police patrols in the area of Loyola University and the pier Thursday.
"There's a lot of light, and things that we do for safety but we try to minimize now, so they're not as bright in people's rooms," said 49th Ward Ald. Maria Hadden. "But obviously, whenever we have a safety concern we do reviews, we look to see if there's something else that could be there."
There are no cameras on the pier. Hadden said more security is on the table.
"We always consider it," she said.
Chicago police said their investigation is ongoing and no one I currently in custody.
At 7 p.m. there will be a prayer vigil on Loyola campus for students to honor Gorman.