More than a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua gang members were arrested after two Venezuelans who were unlawfully in the United States were charged in a mass shooting in Chicago in December that left three people dead and five injured.
The suspected gunmen in the Dec. 2 house party massacre, Ricardo Granadillo Padilla, 25, and Edward Martinez Cermeno, 24, are facing charges, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Tuesday.
FOX 32 Chicago, an affiliate, said that eight persons were shot, including three women and five men between the ages of 20 and 35.
According to the investigation, the victims were shot in the head, abdomen, and limbs.
Two guys, ages 26 and 28, were among the three persons declared dead.
Officials confirmed previous service calls at the house, and graffiti tied to gangs was discovered at the scene, according to FOX 32.
According to ICE, Padilla was sentenced in March for illegally entering the country in 2022 around El Paso, Texas, after being apprehended in Raleigh, North Carolina, on February 8 as part of a multi-agency operation.
In January, his Chicago residence was searched and found to contain numerous firearms, high-capacity magazines, drugs, and forged paperwork.
Authorities claim that a weapon, ammunition, and other evidence were found upon his detention one month later.
After a federal detention hearing, officials claimed a federal magistrate judge freed Cermeno, who had been apprehended on January 26 by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago and border patrol agents in Schaumburg, Illinois.
He entered the country unlawfully in 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas, and was apprehended once more by ICE HSI Chicago on administrative immigration charges.
According to ICE, Padilla and Cermeno are still in federal custody.
In recent weeks, ICE HSI Chicago has arrested 16 more TdA members and allies of Padilla and Cermeno in the Chicago and Raleigh areas on immigration-related crimes.
