CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WAND) - One person is dead and four others were wounded in a shooting at an American Legion in Champaign.

The shooting was at American Legion Post 559, located in the 700 block of N. Hickory St. Police said they responded to the area at about 3 p.m. Friday and were met with a large crowd. 

Authorities discovered a 17-year-old victim had life-threatening gunshot wounds to the chest. Officers immediately began administering aid. He was taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead. 

Champaign County Coroner Duane Northrup identified the victim as Kieshaun Lamar Thatch. An autopsy for Thatch is scheduled for Saturday, July 3, and an inquest may be held at a later date.  

Police learned minutes later that four gunshot victims were arriving at local hospitals, as well as at Champaign Fire Station 3.  The victims included three males and a pregnant female. All of them are believed to be in stable condition. 

Officers said a preliminary investigation showed a large gathering of over 100 people was happening at the American Legion. At least one suspect approached the 17-year-old victim in the parking lot and shot him. Gunfire ensued and police estimate about 100 rounds of gunfire were exchanged. A WAND news on the estimated there were about 113 rounds of gunfire. 

Authorities were interviewing witnesses Friday evening. They said no arrests had been made at that time. 

A Legion employee told WAND News this shooting happened during a "Repass for David", a celebration that followed the funeral of Champaign shooting victim David E. Dalton Jr., 32. Dalton was shot in the back after midnight on Sunday, June 20 and died at Carle Foundation Hospital.

WAND News earlier spoke by phone with someone from this American Legion location. They told the station "we need police here now."

The event was just getting started when the shooting happened, they said. American Legion added they did not want to host this event because they were worried about something violent happening.

In a Friday evening press conference, police said they believe this was an isolated situation and was retaliatory.

Champaign Police Chief Anthony Cobb stressed authorities need people to come forward and share any information they might know. The community needs to be part of the solution, he said, and he added he's optimistic the public has had enough of the gun violence. 

"I don't care if we have an officer on every corner in every spot in the city, we are not omnipresent and we can't (always) be there," Cobb said. "We need our public's assistance. We need our public to come and be part of the solution and without them, we are not going to be able to solve these issues." 

WAND News asked if there are concerns about innocent people dying in situations such as the Friday afternoon shooting. Cobb said it's always a concern.

"Families were there, children were there, toddlers were there," Cobb said. "It could have been easily one of them."

A frustrated Cobb talked about how police are sometimes seconds or minutes away from responding to shootings and are involved in situations that are traumatic and stressful. He said they can end up in shoot or don't shoot situations. 

"Don't get me wrong, my people are well-trained and I am proud of them and they're going to show up and do the best possible job they possibly can," Cobb said. "But the short of it is, they're human and they don't want to be put in these situations. They want our community to be safe. They want to provide support and aid to our public, but our public has been hostile and treating them like they're the villains. They are not villains. They are public servants and they truly want to serve the public. Allow them to do their job." 

This was the second shooting to occur in Champaign Friday. Early Friday morning, an 18-year-old victim was found to have been shot multiple times in his left leg in the 900 block of Francis Drive. Police said an unknown offender approached that person and fired in a residential complex parking lot area.

The victim was transported to a local hospital in that shooting and was in stable condition earlier Friday.

Cobb said Champaign has seen 137 shooting incidents through July 2, 2021, compared to 189 in all of 2020.

Anyone with information on the American Legion shooting or other shootings should call Champaign police at (217)351-4545. Arrangements can be made for information to be shared privately. 

People can contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling (217)373-8477, visiting this website or downloading the "P3 Tips" mobile app. 

The Champaign County Coroner's Office and Champaign police are investigating the deadly shooting.Â