CHICAGO, IL – On Tuesday, May 20th, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrest of two illegal immigrants, who are part of the violent Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA), for their connection to a mass shooting that happened in December 2024.
The suspected shooters were involved in a mass shooting that took place on December 2, 2024 at a house party in Chicago. The party was predominately attended by Venezuelan nationals. The incident resulted in multiple injuries and the loss of three lives. Authorities believe that the shooting was perpetrated by members of TdA.
The two shooters have been identified as 25-year-old Venezuelan national Ricardo Granadillo Padilla and 24-year-old Venezuelan national Edward Martinez Cermeno. ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Chicago and Raleigh, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Raleigh, U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit, the U.S. Marshals Service, and CBP Air and Marine Operations in Raleigh arrested Padillo on February 8th.
Padillo is currently in federal custody after being sentenced in March for illegally entering the United States in 2022 near El Paso, Texas. According to ICE, “Multiple firearms, high-capacity magazines, narcotics, and fraudulent documents were seized in January 2025 from Padillo’s residence in Chicago. During his arrest in Raleigh, North Carolina, a pistol, ammunition, and other evidentiary items were also seized.”
Cermeno was arrested on January 26th by ICE HSI Chicago and the CBP Office of Border Patrol in Schaumburg, Illinois. He was initially released by a federal magistrate judge in Illinois following a federal detention hearing, but was then re-arrested by ICE HSI Chicago on administrative immigration charges for being illegally present in the United States.
Cermeno is currently in federal custody facing criminal charges for illegally entering the United States in 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas. According to ICE, “Over the past six weeks, 16 additional TdA members and associates of the shooters in the Chicago area and Raleigh, North Carolina were arrested by ICE HSI Chicago on immigration charges.
According to FOX32, the shooting unfolded around 2:00 p.m. on December 2, 2024 inside a home in the 3500 block of West 95th Street during a social gathering attended predominately by Venezuelan nationals. Police said that eight people — five men and three women between the ages of 20 and 35 — were shot. Three men were pronounced dead at the scene or at area hospitals, including a 26-year-old and a 28-year-old.
The other victims sustained a range of injuries, including gunshot wounds to the head, abdomen, and limbs. Graffiti believed to be gang related was found on fences and trash bins behind the house. The suspects have not yet been formally charged in connection with the shootings, but law enforcement agencies said criminal investigations are ongoing.
