A former Illinois teacher and illegal immigrant wanted for allegedly aiding Tren de Aragua gangsters linked to mass shooting in Chicago is now in federal immigration custody.
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, an illegal alien from Venezuela with dual citizenship in Italy, allegedly drove two of the shooters involved in a December 2024 shooting at a house party in Chicago, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Occhipinti was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on May 13. She was previously released from jail by Chicago sanctuary politicians without notifying ICE.
Chicago has a track record of letting criminals out on bond and not working with ICE officials to turn illegal immigrants suspected of crimes over to federal authorities.
Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago “took independent and decisive enforcement action to make sure these individuals could no longer threaten their community,” DHS said in a news release.
The gang-related shooting occurred on Dec. 2, 2024, at a house party in Chicago where three people were killed and five others were injured.
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti helped facilitate a Tren de Aragua MASS SHOOTING — and Illinois sanctuary politicians RELEASED HER from jail.
Under @POTUS Trump and @SecMullinDHS, DHS is doing the job that sanctuary politicians in Illinois refuse to do: putting the American… https://t.co/BkYyUL790p pic.twitter.com/acUcmsQr4B
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 23, 2026
Authorities believe Occhipinti helped the suspected shooters, Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno, evade law enforcement after the shooting. Chicago police found multiple weapons in Occhipinti’s vehicle immediately after the crime.
The Chicago Police Department arrested Occhipinti on Dec. 5, 2024, for charges of unlawful use of weapons and weapon offense. Chicago authorities then let her walk free without notifying ICE, DHS said.
Occhipinti entered the United States in October of 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program. She was supposed to leave by Jan. 2, 2022, but overstayed her visa and never left, DHS said.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS is doing the job that sanctuary politicians in Illinois refuse to do: putting the American people first and removing these dangerous criminals from our communities,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.
Padilla and Cermeno were tracked down by ICE last year and also taken into federal custody for immigration violations. They were illegal Venezuelan immigrants and suspected TdA gang members.
DHS and ICE press releases following their arrest included pictures of the men, guns and drugs.
Authorities connected both men to the December 2024 mass shooting in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood. A Chicago police source confirmed to WGN 9 News both men were viewed as suspects by detectives investigating the case.
According to DHS, the Cook County State Attorney’s office decided not to pursue criminally prosecuting the suspects. Padilla and Cermeno were arrested and deported, like many of their associates were after the shooting, DHS said.
Both CWB and WGN reported they were deported prior to facing criminal charges, with WGN reporting that “DHS accused the men of crimes they had not yet been charged with.”
Padilla was arrested in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Feb. 8, 2025, for illegally entering the country in 2022 near El Paso, Texas, according to ICE. He was ordered removed on Aug. 19, 2025, and deported a month later to Caracas, Venezuela, CWB reported.
Cermeno was arrested in Schaumburg, Illinois, on Jan. 26, 2025, by HSI Chicago and border patrol agents, but officials said he was later released by a federal magistrate judge after a federal detention hearing.
Cermeno was detained again by ICE HSI Chicago on administrative immigration charges for illegally entering the country in 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas, Fox News Digital reported in May 2025.
This illegal alien former school teacher HELPED FACILITATE A TDA MASS SHOOTING.
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti drove the Tren de Aragua shooters to the mass shooting site and then helped them evade law enforcement.
Illinois sanctuary politicians RELEASED HER after she was… https://t.co/BkYyUL7GPX pic.twitter.com/TShK3LrkbL
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 22, 2026
The mass shooting led to the arrest of more than a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua gang members and associates of the shooters in the Chicago area and Raleigh, DHS said.
HSI Chicago’s Human Trafficking and Smuggling Group agents arrested Occhipinti late at night on May 13. She remains in custody pending removal.
“Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti’s actions were calculated and deliberate, leading to the loss of three lives,” said HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino. “I’m proud of our agents for pursuing this case to the end, ensuring that everyone who helped facilitate this mass homicide is brought to justice.”
Fox News Digital reported, per DHS, that Occhipinti was a teacher at an unspecified school in the Chicago suburb of Elgin. Illinois officials would not cooperate with federal authorities and release the name of the school.
Occhipinti is being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky, according to Fox Digital.
Although several criminal illegal immigrants and suspected TdA gangsters have been removed from the country, “what began as a highly publicized arrest touted by federal officials as a step toward solving a triple murder has ended with silence,” CWB Chicago reported in November.
The Gage Park shooting remains unsolved, even though the feds announced a $10,000 reward in addition to the previously announced Cook County Crime Stoppers reward. Officials have said all of the victims were migrants.
Eight people were shot, including five men and three women between the ages of 20 and 35, according to a report from affiliate FOX 32 Chicago. Gang-related graffiti was found at the scene, and officials confirmed prior calls for service at the address.
