A former Illinois teacher living in the United States illegally, who was allegedly involved in a 2024 Tren de Aragua mass shooting that killed three people at a Chicago house party, was arrested by federal authorities, officials said Monday.Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, an illegal immigrant from Venezuela with dual citizenship in Italy, was taken into custody by U.S.Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on May 13, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.Occhipinti entered the U.S.
in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program and was supposed to leave by Jan.2, 2022.
She overstayed her visa, DHS said.On the night of the Dec.2, 2024, shooting, she allegedly drove the two gunmen—Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno—to the scene of the crime, where five people were injured in addition to the three fatalities, authorities said.TWO ILLEGAL VENEZUELAN IMMIGRANTS, SUSPECTED TDA GANG MEMBERS CHARGED IN DEADLY CHICAGO MASS SHOOTINGGiovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, a former Illinois teacher and illegal immigrant, was allegedly involved in a December 2024 mass shooting that left three people dead at a Chicago house party.
(Department of Homeland Security)"Although Chicago police arrested this illegal alien shortly after the shooting, sanctuary politicians released her from jail without notifying ICE," DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement."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."Martinez Cermeno was released from ICE custody in January 2025 after a federal judge determined that federal prosecutors failed to meet their burden of proof to keep him incarcerated while awaiting trial.Immediately after the shooting, authorities found multiple weapons in Occhipinti’s vehicle, DHS said.
Authorities believe she helped Granadillo ...