‘This was murder’: Devastated family demands answers in killing of Loyola student from Westchester

Sheridan Gorman had this “inner glow” about her, family friends say. She was quiet, yet drew people to her.

It’s no wonder, then, that the 18-year-old from Westchester County was out with friends, walking near their Loyola University campus in Chicago early Thursday, when it happened.

A stray gunshot whizzed through the air, hitting Gorman in the head. She died at the scene.

Her heartbroken family left their Yorktown Heights home for Chicago on Thursday night. Too distraught to speak, Gorman’s father, in a text, to NBC New York shared a message to parents everywhere: Hug your children.

Earlier Thursday, the Gormans’ family attorney, Thomas Tripodianos, released a statement on their behalf.

“There is no way to soften this—this was murder,” the statement read in part. “Sheridan was the light of our lives. She made people feel seen, safe, and loved simply by being who she was. She lived her faith with kindness, compassion, and joy, and she loved her family and friends deeply.”

“We trusted that she would be safe. That trust was broken,” the statement continued. “Someone made a deliberate choice that stole our daughter and forever changed our family. We are demanding answers, and we will not stop until the person responsible is identified and brought to justice.”

In a campus safety alert sent early Thursday, the school said the man, who officials say was not known to Sheridan’s group, was wearing a face covering. No arrests have been made.

Anyone with information is asked to call police.

Previously, university officials released a statement calling Gorman’s death a “tragic loss.”

“It is with profound sadness that I write to share that one of our students, Sheridan Gorman, was killed earlier today in an incident north of the Lake Shore Campus,” a letter, released Thursday and addressed to the Loyola Community from school president Mark C. Reed, read. “This is a tragic loss, and our hearts go out to Sheridan’s family, loved ones, and all who knew her.”