Police have identified a gunman wanted for shooting a man multiple times at a busy shopping center in Vernon Hills following an argument Thursday evening.
The Vernon Hills Police Department and Countryside Fire Protection District responded around 6:50 p.m. Thursday to Hawthorn Hills Square Shopping Center, 700 Milwaukee Avenue, for a report of a shooting.
Officers responding to calls of shots fired found a victim injured near Liquor Barn.
Vernon Hills Deputy Police Chief Shannon Holubetz said the adult male victim suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
Paramedics transported the victim to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. The victim’s condition was not known.
The shooting occurred in the parking lot of the shopping center.
The Vernon Hills Police Department said on social media that the public to avoid the Hawthorn Hills Square Shopping Center on the southwest corner of Route 60 and Milwaukee Avenue due to the police activity.
Crime scene tape was set up around a portion of the shopping center parking lot as police investigated.
Holubetz said around 8:40 p.m. that the offender remained at large.
“Preliminary information suggests there is no ongoing threat to the immediate area,” he said.
In an update, police announced the suspect had been identified and the Lake County Major Crime Task Force was assisting on the case.
A preliminary investigation shows the shooting stemmed from an altercation between two parties known to each other, Holubetz said.
A woman told Lake and McHenry County Scanner she was walking out of a nearby restaurant when the shooting happened.
She said she heard approximately eight shots and saw lots of police officers responding.
A man told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he was walking his dog when he heard seven to eight shots being fired followed by sirens a minute later.
Holubetz said the incident remains under active and ongoing investigation.
Anybody with information is asked to contact the Vernon Hills Police Investigations Unit at 847-247-4893 or Lake County Crime Stoppers at 847-662-2222.