Ex-Chicago area teacher in ICE custody, awaiting deportation for role in 2024 Southwest Side mass shooting
The Department of Homeland Security says a Chicago-area teacher is in custody and awaiting deportation, accused of helping the gunmen in a mass shooting in 2024 on the Southwest Side.
The two alleged shooters were previously arrested and have since been deported to Venezuela. Both had ties to the violent gang Tren de Aragua, according to DHS.
Giovanna Moreno Occhipinti, 32, a former Illinois educator, was arrested last month by federal immigration enforcement officers. She's accused of driving Ricardo Padilla and Edward Cermeno to a Gage Park home in December 2024.
ICE says both men, who have ties to the dangerous and violent Venezuelan gang, opened fire during a house party.
Occhipinti is accused of helping the men evade law enforcement after the shooting.
DHS says Occhipinti was arrested by Chicago police shortly after the 2024 shooting with an arsenal of weapons in her car, but according to the federal agency, she was apparently released and ICE wasn't notified.
The department said they got involved after "the Cook County State's Attorney's Office determined it would not move forward with criminally prosecuting."
"It's aggravating. It's mind-blowing, to be perfectly honest with you," said Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th). "How we have somebody who's teaching in our schools, who has ties to one of the most dangerous gangs in Venezuela."
Lopez's ward borders the 2024 mass shooting scene and says he was aware of previous calls to police at the home. He says the incident was avoidable and points to what he calls flaws in Chicago's welcoming city ordinance.
According to DHS, Occhipinti is from Venezuela with Italian dual citizenship.
"I said then that this had the hallmarks of trende aragua. People didn't want to hear it," he said. "Everyone wanted to sweep it under the rug like it wasn't true, and yet, here we are today."
The Cook County State Attorney's Office says charges were not rejected in this case and remains an ongoing police investigation
CBS News Chicago reached out to the Illinois State Board of Education, but it's unclear what district or school Ochipinto worked in or what her role was.
It was learned that she entered the United States in October 2021 under the visa waiver program, according to DHS, and was supposed to leave by January 2022.
She remains in custody pending removal.
