College freshman out with friends shot in head by masked suspect who remains on the loose: Police

An 18-year-old college freshman was shot and killed erstwhile a shooter seemingly opened occurrence connected a radical of friends adjacent a Chicago lakefront formation successful the aboriginal greeting hours.

Sheridan Gorman, a first-year pupil astatine Loyola University Chicago, was struck successful the caput and pronounced dormant astatine the country pursuing the Thursday shooting successful the Rogers Park neighborhood.

Police person not announced immoderate arrests, and the suspect, who was masked astatine the clip of the shooting, remains astatine large.

The shooting occurred soon aft 1:30 a.m. connected March 19 adjacent Tobey Prinz Beach, a fashionable country on the lakefront adjacent Loyola's campus, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Gorman had been walking with a radical of friends erstwhile a antheral approached and began firing successful their direction, striking her erstwhile successful the head.

Authorities said Gorman was the lone idiosyncratic struck. Detectives person indicated she whitethorn not person been the intended target, though the circumstances surrounding the shooting stay nether investigation, Chicago ABC affiliate WLS reported.

Witnesses told investigators the fishy was wearing acheronian covering and a skis disguise that covered their face. After firing, they fled the country connected foot.

Friends who were with Gorman reportedly ran erstwhile the gunfire erupted, past returned moments aboriginal to find her unresponsive connected the ground.

The sidesplitting has shaken the assemblage astatine Loyola University Chicago, wherever Gorman had precocious begun her freshman year. University officials said they are cooperating with instrumentality enforcement and providing enactment resources to students affected by the shooting.

In a statement, assemblage enactment described the incidental arsenic a devastating nonaccomplishment and extended condolences to Gorman's household and friends.

"It is with profound sadness that I constitute to stock that 1 of our students, Sheridan Gorman, was killed earlier contiguous successful an incidental northbound of the Lake Shore Campus," University President Mark C. Reed wrote successful a statement. "We are successful adjacent interaction with instrumentality enforcement arsenic they analyse and enactment to recognize the afloat circumstances of this tragedy. Based connected the accusation disposable to america now, determination is nary ongoing menace to our field community."

Gorman, who was primitively from New York, was remembered by loved ones arsenic a benignant and vibrant young pistillate whose beingness was chopped abbreviated conscionable months into her assemblage experience, WLS reported.

Residents successful the country reported proceeding what sounded similar a azygous gunshot, followed by screams, highlighting the abrupt quality of the violence. One pupil told section CBS affiliate WBBM that the gunshot woke him up.

"I conscionable heard the screaming. They were saying, 'Come assistance us. We're implicit here,'" the student, who wished to stay anonymous, reportedly said. "Since then, I couldn't spell backmost to sleep. It was thing I ne'er thought would hap successful the assemblage here."

Police person not said what whitethorn person motivated the shooting and proceed to hunt for the shooter. Authorities are urging anyone with accusation to travel guardant arsenic the probe remains ongoing.