A former Illinois teacher who is alleged to have helped gang members involved in a 2024 mass shooting in Chicago has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, an illegal alien from Venezuela, is connected to a December 2024 Tren de Aragua shooting at a Chicago house party, according to a Department of Homeland Security news release.
The DHS release said she is suspected of driving the gunmen to the party.
Three people were killed and several others were injured in the attack.
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
Her connection to the shooting is not new. Right after the shooting, Chicago police found several weapons in Moreno Occhipinti’s vehicle.
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Authorities believe she helped gunmen Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and Edward Martinez Cermeno evade law enforcement after the shooting took place.
Moreno Occhipinti was arrested on Dec. 5, 2024, on charges of unlawful use of weapons and weapon offense.
In keeping with Chicago’s sanctuary policies, ICE was not notified when she was released.
“After the Cook County State Attorney’s office determined it would not move forward with criminally prosecuting these subjects, HSI Chicago took independent and decisive enforcement action to make sure these individuals could no longer threaten their community. HSI Chicago will continue to enforce federal laws to make sure the community is safe,” the release said.
HSI agents arrested Moreno Occhipinti on May 13. She is in DHS custody until she can be deported.
“This illegal alien who used to work as a teacher was involved in a mass shooting in Chicago that killed three people and injured others,” acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.
“Although Chicago police arrested this illegal alien shortly after the shooting, sanctuary politicians released her from jail without notifying ICE. 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,” she said.
“Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti’s actions were calculated and deliberate, leading to the loss of three lives,” HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino said.
“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,” she said.
Moreno Occhipinti entered the United States during the Biden era in October 2021 as part of the Visa Waiver Program.
Although she was supposed to leave by Jan. 2, 2022, she remained in the U.S. illegally.
Gunmen Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno were both deported, the release noted.
Fox News reported that Moreno Occhipinti taught in the Chicago suburb of Elgin, but Illinois officials have refused to tell federal officials which school hired the illegal immigrant as a teacher.
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