ICE releases photos in arrest of alleged gang members connected to Chicago mass shooting

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Two suspected members of a Venezuelan gang have been taken into custody for their alleged involvement in a deadly mass shooting in Chicago.

One of the suspects, 25-year-old Ricardo Padillia-Granadillo, was arrested in Raleigh in February.

U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said Padillia-Granadillo is accused of shooting at a house party back in December, where several people were hurt and three were killed, along with 24-year-old Edward Martinez-Cermeno.

He was then arrested two months later at a home in Raleigh.

According to ICE, Padillia-Granadillo is currently in federal custody, and is a suspected member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He is believed to have illegally entered the United States on Oct. 1, 2022, near El Paso.

Authorities said Padillia-Granadillo was found with a pistol and ammunition. ICE said multiple firearms, high-capacity magazines, narcotics and fraudulent documents were seized in January from Padillia-Granadillo's residence in Chicago, and during his arrest in Raleigh authorities seized a pistol, ammunition, and other evidentiary items.

Martinez Cermeno was arrested on Jan. 26 by ICE HSI Chicago and the CBP Office of Border Patrol in Schaumburg, Illinois.

Authorities said he was initially released by a federal magistrate judge in Illinois following a federal detention hearing but was then re-arrested on administrative immigration charges for being illegally present in the United States.

Martinez Cermeno is currently in federal custody facing criminal charges for illegally entering the United States in 2023 near Eagle Pass, Texas.

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