A former Illinois teacher, 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.
Background of the Case
Occhipinti entered the U.S. in October 2021 under the Visa Waiver Program and was supposed to leave by Jan. 2, 2022. However, she overstayed her visa. 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.
Although Chicago police arrested Occhipinti shortly after the shooting, sanctuary politicians released her from jail without notifying ICE. Authorities found multiple weapons in Occhipinti’s vehicle and believe she helped Granadillo Padilla and Martinez Cermeno evade law enforcement after the attack.
Occhipinti is being held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky. ICE Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated that 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.
Original reporting: Fox News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
