Police say the subject in the inset photo shot an employee working at the Dollar General, 2613 Grand Avenue in Waukegan, on February 4, 2022. | Photo: Joe Shuman/J. Shuman Photography (2022)

The 15-year-old boy who was arrested and charged in connection to the shooting of a Dollar General employee in Waukegan has been released from custody and is no longer a suspect, police said.

The incident happened around 7:15 p.m. on February 4 at the Dollar General, 2613 Grand Avenue in Waukegan, and prompted the response of the Waukegan Police Department and Waukegan Fire Department.

On Wednesday, police arrested a 15-year-old boy and he was charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery.

The boy was held at the Robert W. Depke Juvenile Complex Center in Vernon Hills.

On Friday, detectives verified the 15-year-old’s whereabouts on the night of the shooting, Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Joe Florip said.

The boy was immediately eliminated as a suspect and has been released from the detention center, Florip said.

The incident is still an open and active case.

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Police say the subject in these surveillance photos shot an employee working at the Dollar General, 2613 Grand Avenue in Waukegan, on February 4, 2022. | Provided Photos

The Dollar General employee’s father told Lake and McHenry County Scanner that his 19-year-old son was working as an employee at the store when the shooting happened.

He said that his son noticed a person shoplifting in the store and asked the person to leave.

“Things escalated. The guy went outside and pulled a gun and shot,” said the victim’s father, who did not want to be publicly identified.

The victim is a Waukegan resident and was shot in the face near his eye while trying to shut the store’s front door.

Paramedics transported the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville for treatment of severe facial injuries. He was later transferred to another hospital for surgery.

The 19-year-old has since been released from the hospital. “[He’s] doing pretty well for being shot in the head,” the victim’s father said earlier this month.

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Police investigate a shooting at Dollar General, 2613 Grand Avenue in Waukegan, that left one person injured on February 4, 2022. | Photo: Joe Shuman/J. Shuman Photography (2022)

The man’s sister, Crystal Padilla, said her brother will need more surgeries for his eye moving forward.

“Elvis is a very to himself, quiet person who doesn’t bother anyone. He was simply and unfortunately presented with a person with no humanity or compassion,” Padilla said.

“My mom and all of his loved ones are doing the best we can with the support he needs and we ask for whatever help anyone would like to contribute for any accommodations he will need from now on with medical expenses, therapy, at home care, etc.,” Padilla said in a GoFundMe post.

The GoFundMe account has raised nearly $9,000 as of Friday evening.

“God saved his life and we are now here to help him live the best version of it he can,” Padilla said.