The daughter of Illinois Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) died on Monday at the family home of the businessman and politician serving the state’s 6th Congressional District, his office has announced.
A short statement shared by the lawmaker’s office confirmed that “Casten’s beloved daughter, Gwen (17), passed away,” adding that the “family requests privacy at this time.”
“We will be issuing no further comment during this heartbreaking time,” his office said.
Casten’s office did not immediately provide any further details surrounding the teen’s cause of death.
Gwen died inside the family’s Downers Grove home in DuPage County, the Chicago Tribune reported, citing local police.
Authorities were dispatched to a medical emergency just before 7 a.m. on Monday “for an unresponsive 17-year-old female,” police said, according to the outlet.
“First responders determined that the subject was deceased,” the department said.
Just over a week ago, Casten expressed “tremendous pride” in his daughter during an interview after the teen took the initiative to organize a “Stop the Bleed” training at her school.
“I both have tremendous pride that my daughter took the initiative to organize that and tremendous shame that we as a country are making it the responsibility of 15, 16, and 17-year-old kids to do what sitting United States senators don’t have the courage to do themselves,” the lawmaker told Newsy.
According to Gwen’s Twitter bio, she served as co-director of the “March For Our Lives” gun-control organization. She also made an appearance in her father’s campaign video, who is running for re-election.
???? BIG NEWS: Sean just released a new digital ad!!
In Congress, Sean is working to enshrine a woman’s right to make her own health care decisions, combat gun violence, & ban Members of Congress from trading stock.
Chip in now to keep these ads running: https://t.co/zwkQBqyN7A pic.twitter.com/SmO3xZgn61
— Team Sean Casten (@VoteCasten) June 2, 2022
The 50-year-old Democratic congressman is running for his third term in the Democratic primary for the state’s newly redrawn 6th district, where he is the seated incumbent.
Casten is running against fellow incumbent Democrat Rep. Marie Newman, a freshman, and Charles Hughes of Chicago, who previously ran for the 3rd Congressional District in the 2020 primary.
“My heart breaks for the Casten family for the devastating loss of their daughter,” Newman said in a statement on Twitter. “My prayers are with Sean, Kara, and the entire Casten family.”