Police responded to the shooting at about 6:48 p.m. on the Hawthorn Hills Square Shopping Center in the 7000-block of North Milwaukee Avenue.
The victim was transported to a hospital in critical condition, police said.
At about 1 a.m., the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System's Emergency Services Team arrested Jhonattan Garcia-Nava, 36, of North Chicago, at a home in Waukegan, police said.
Garcia-Nava has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, police said.
A woman who was shopping at the time where this all happened described what she saw.
I think it is kind of scary because this is kind of a pretty safe neighborhood, pretty safe town." Kat Martinez said. "I just told them this is the most intense thing to happen in a while around here."
Police say there is no further threat to the public.
The shooting remains under investigation. The Hawthorn Hills Square Shopping Center has now been re-opened.