A progressive Chicago alderwoman is being widely panned on social media over her response to a local college student being allegedly shot and killed by an alleged illegal immigrant over the weekend.
Shortly after Sheridan Gorman, 18, of Westchester County, New York, was gunned down while taking a walk with friends around 1:30 a.m. Thursday along Chicago's lakefront, Alderwoman Maria Hadden posted a video suggesting Gorman was in the "wrong place at the wrong time" and that she may have "startled" the individual who shot and killed her.
The comments quickly sparked outrage on social media from commenters making the case that Hadden's video was not only insensitive, but shows the lack of concern from local Democrats when it comes to crime.
"Unbelievable," Manhattan Institute's Rafael Mangual posted on X. "Perhaps these politicians can put out a comprehensive list of the places we should avoid and the times we should avoid them so as not to get shot to death by strangers."
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"Imagine being an alderman, having a college freshman murdered in your ward, and, before the suspect is even identified, posting a video in which you brainstorm an excuse that maybe the victim 'startled' the guy who killed her," reader-funded public safety news outlet CWB Chicago posted on X. "God Almighty."
"This is disgusting," comedian Tim Young posted on X.
"This is how most Democrats think about crime, she's just saying it out loud," New York City Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino posted on X. "They have no interest in taking any kind of action, because they don't think any of it is a big deal. Criminals have a right to be criminals, don't get in their way, and who are we to judge."
"That's what we're up against here," Paladino added.
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"The only person who was in the 'wrong place at the wrong time' was the illegal immigrant who should have never been allowed into our country," former Trump campaign deputy communications director Caroline Sunshine posted on X.
"'Wrong place' = anywhere in Chicago, 'Wrong time" = 24 hours, 7 days a week," conservative influencer account End Wokeness posted on X.
"This is who's running your city," conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X.
Hadden's comment also drew pushback from Gorman's family, who released a statement referencing Hadden's remarks and said the slain college student "deserved the future that was stolen from her."
"What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed."
The family added: "We cannot accept a world where moments like this become something people grow used to. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to violence. When we begin to accept these tragedies as inevitable, we all become vulnerable to them. Apathy is not harmless-it allows these moments to repeat."
Fox News Digital reached out to Hadden's office for comment.
The illegal immigrant charged with the murder of the Loyola University Chicago student entered the U.S. during the Biden administration before being apprehended and released into the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Sunday.
DHS also confirmed that Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, had been previously arrested for shoplifting in Chicago, marking a prior criminal incident before the alleged murder.
