Heartbreaking photos captured a bright-eyed New York teen smiling and posing alongside new friends as she embraced freshman life at Loyola University – just days before a masked gunman cut it all short in a shocking burst of violence near campus.
What began as a group of friends enjoying a late-night stroll along the pier at Tobey Prinz Beach turned into a nightmare when a gunman suddenly opened fire – fatally striking 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman in the head around 1:30 a.m. Thursday, according to Chicago police and the university.
The shooter, with his face concealed, fled into the darkness – and remained on the loose as of Thursday afternoon, with authorities releasing no description.
Nobody else was injured during the terrifying ordeal, police said.
Just three days earlier, Gorman had been all smiles – posing arm-in-arm with baby-faced friends while celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the Windy City, her Instagram profile shows.
The Yorktown Heights native appeared to be thriving at Loyola, where she enrolled last fall – subsequently filling her social media profile with smiley snapshots of dorm life, Halloween festivities and school spirit, as well as a trip to a Chicago Cubs game.
“Bye first semester!” she captioned a Dec. 12 photo on Instagram, which shows her beaming in a hand-painted denim jacket decked out in Loyola colors while posing with the school’s wolf mascot.
In a chillingly poignant post from March 8, the slain brunette said she looked forward to “warmer days ahead.”
Gorman – whose bio cited the Bible verse “1 Corinthians 16:14,” urging to “Let all that you do be done in love” – was active in Loyola’s “Cru” Christian group and had recently traveled to Indianapolis with fellow members.
Her Instagram account heartbreakingly shows Gorman had long looked forward to her life in Chi-Town – even bedazzling her high school graduation cap with “Loyola” and proudly posing with mounds of school gear last spring.
A prayer vigil in her honor is set for Thursday evening at Loyola’s Madonna della Strada Chapel, according to university President Mark Reed, who called her killing a “tragic loss.”
“Our hearts go out to Sheridan’s family, loved ones, and all who knew her,” Reed wrote in a statement, adding that school officials are working closely with police and that there is no ongoing threat to campus.
Yorktown Central School District Superintendent Ronald Hattar acknowledged the alumni’s death “with an absolutely broken heart” in a statement Thursday.
“We are so deeply shattered by this tragic and senseless loss,” he wrote on behalf of the district.
Additional reporting by David Propper.
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