Democratic Congressman Sean Casten’s 17-year-old daughter died Monday morning at the family’s home.
“This morning, congressman Casten’s beloved daughter, Gwen, passed away,” the Illinois lawmaker’s office said in a statement Monday evening. “The Casten family requests privacy, and we will be issuing no further comment during this heartbreaking time.”
This morning, Congressman Casten’s beloved daughter, Gwen (17), passed away. The Casten family requests privacy, and we will be issuing no further comment during this heartbreaking time.
— Rep. Sean Casten (@RepCasten) June 14, 2022
According to reports, Downers Grove police were called to the house shortly before 7 a.m. on Monday “for an unresponsive seventeen year old female” and determined she was deceased.
Her cause of death is being investigated and no other details are available at this time.
Earlier this month Casten wrote about how his daughter organized a “Stop the Bleed” training event at her high school for shooting-related injuries.
My teenage daughter, Gwen organized a “Stop The Bleed” training to learn how to pack a gunshot wound during a school shooting because, in America, our children have taken it upon themselves to do what sitting US Senators don’t have the courage to do. pic.twitter.com/FSV2OJatq9
— Rep. Sean Casten (@RepCasten) June 3, 2022
Casten faces incumbent Democratic Rep. Marie Newman in a primary battle for the newly redrawn 6th Congressional District.
“My heart breaks for the Casten family for the devastating loss of their daughter. My prayers are with Sean, Kara, and the entire Casten family," Newman said Monday night.
Her campaign is currently "working to cease all comparative paid communications immediately."