politics
ICE arrests dual citizen after Chicago police charged her in 2024 shooting that killed three
Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti, 32, was taken into federal custody in May 2025 after Chicago police released her without notifying immigration authorities following a December 2024 mass shooting. New York Post reported the details from Department of Homeland Security statements.
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Giovanna Mercedes Moreno Occhipinti on May 13, 2025. The 32-year-old dual citizen of Venezuela and Italy had overstayed a Visa Waiver Program entry from October 2021 that required departure by January 2, 2022, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
New York Post reported that Occhipinti allegedly drove two men to a December 2, 2024 house party in Chicago where three people were killed and five others injured. Multiple weapons were found in her vehicle after the shooting, and Chicago police arrested her three days later on weapons charges. Chicago authorities released her without notifying ICE under local sanctuary policies.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office declined to prosecute the suspects, and the two alleged gunmen were later deported. DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis stated that sanctuary politicians released the woman without notifying ICE. HSI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Matthew Scarpino said her actions were calculated and deliberate, leading to the loss of three lives.
Occhipinti had worked as a teacher at an unspecified school in Elgin, Illinois. State officials declined to identify the school. She is held at the Grayson County Detention Center in Leitchfield, Kentucky.
