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Police Search For Killer Of Champaign Teenager

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Flowers are taped to a utility pole by police tape near the place a 17-year-old Champaign student was shot on September 30, 2021.
  • Photo: Reginald Hardwick/Illinois Newsroom

CHAMPAIGN – Police in Champaign are still searching for the person who shot and killed a Centennial High School student.

On Friday, the city identified the victim as 17-year-old Jonathon McPhearson.

Officers said McPhearson was sitting along West Kirby Avenue on Thursday afternoon when multiple people in masks walked up and opened fire on him.

So far, no one has been arrested and the motive is not known.

At an afternoon news conference, Deputy Chief of Police Nate Rath asked people to come forward if they have any information.

“We know there are people in this community who are intentionally withholding information,” said Rath. “Reality is, that an individual who shoots carries the potential to pull the trigger again.”

This is the 12th murder in Champaign so far this year.

Anyone with information is advised to call the Crimestoppers hotline at 217-373-8477.

Earlier this week, police arrested a teenager for firing guns in a field north of Centennial High School.

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Reginald Hardwick

Reginald Hardwick is the News & Public Affairs Director at Illinois Public Media. He oversees daily newscasts and online stories. He also manages The 21st Show, a live, weekday talk show that airs on six NPR stations throughout Illinois. He is the executive producer of IPM's annual environmental TV special "State of Change." And he is the co-creator of Illinois Soul, IPM's Black-focused audio service that launched in February 2024. Before arriving at IPM in 2019, he served as News Director at WKAR in East Lansing and spent 17 years as a TV news producer and manager at KXAS, the NBC-owned station in Dallas/Fort Worth. Reginald is the recipient of three Edward R. Murrow regional awards, seven regional Emmy awards, and multiple honors from the National Association of Black Journalists. Born in Vietnam, Reginald grew up in Colorado and is a graduate of the University of Northern Colorado. Email: rh14@illinois.edu Twitter: @RNewsIPM