A Chicago college student was walking with friends near campus when an unknown suspect walked up to them and fatally shot her, authorities said.
Police said they responded to a report of someone shot at about 1:30 a.m. on March 19. The 18-year-old victim was walking outside near Tobey Prinz Beach Park with a group of friends when an "unknown male offender" approached them. He "displayed a firearm" and shot in the direction of the group, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement. The victim was shot in the head and pronounced dead on the scene. Nobody else was injured, police said.
Detectives are "currently questioning a person of interest," the Chicago Police Department told USA TODAY in an update the morning of March 21.
The victim was identified as Sheridan Gorman, 18, by her hometown in Yorktown, New York. She was a student at Loyola University Chicago.
She was "loved by all who knew her," Yorktown Central School District Superintendent Dr. Ron Hattar said in a letter to district parents, reported theRockland/Westchester Journal News, part of the USA TODAY Network.
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"On behalf of the Town of Yorktown, I, our municipal staff, and Town Board extend our deepest condolences to Sheridan's family in this time of profound loss," Yorktown Town Supervisor Ed Lachterman said on Facebook. "We pray that law enforcement will quickly apprehend the perpetrator of this heinous act."
Loyola University Chicago President Mark C. Reed said in a statement that the university is in close contact with law enforcement amid the investigation, and that there appears to be no ongoing threat to the campus community.
"This is a tragic loss, and our hearts go out to Sheridan's family, loved ones, and all who knew her," Reed said.
Gorman was a graduate of Yorktown High School and was a member of the girls' varsity bowling team while there, the town said.
"She was a ray of sunshine, and this darkness cannot diminish her light," the town said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News:Chicago student shot and killed while walking with friends near campus