Man shoots brother before killing himself outside Fox Lake restaurant they once owned together

A feud between the two brothers who once owned Dockers Restaurant together in Fox Lake reached a deadly end Tuesday afternoon when one brother shot the other before turning his gun on himself outside the lakeside business, police said Tuesday.

Mario Martinez, 56, who still owns the restaurant, survived being shot several times by his older brother, Marciano Martinez, 63, and underwent emergency surgery Tuesday afternoon.

Investigators believe the older man, who no longer had an ownership stake in the restaurant, arrived at the business Tuesday to confront his brother. The two argued in the kitchen and Marciano Martinez pulled a gun and shot his younger brother, said Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli, the spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

Mario Martinez managed to escape the kitchen and get outside the building, but his older brother followed him and shot him several more times. After Mario Martinez collapsed outside the restaurant, investigators said, Marciano Martinez shot himself and died.

Fox Lake Police Chief Jimmy Lee was among the first officers to respond to the scene around a minute after the shots began at 1:05 p.m.

Lee said they worked quickly to get Mario Martinez to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville. Lee said Mario Martinez survived emergency surgery and remains in intensive care as of Tuesday evening.

"We are hoping for the best for Mario," Lee said. "The sooner you can get them to the hospital, the sooner the doctors can do their miracles."

Dockers is located at 33 W. Grand Ave. in Fox Lake. Because of the shots fired nearby, Grant Community High School went into soft lockdown: Exterior doors were locked, and students and staff remained in their classrooms from 1:15 p.m. until 1:40 p.m., when Fox Lake Police told school leaders the situation did not pose a threat.

"This is a tragedy for the community," Lee said. "Dockers is a long-standing business in town with great food. We're sad about it as the village and I'm sure residents are sad too."