MANCHESTER, Conn. _ Negative online reviews on Yelp of Bonchon Chicken may have inflamed bad blood between two employees, leading to a fatal shooting Saturday, sources said.
Police say they are looking for the restaurant's kitchen manager, James Goolsby, 28, as the main suspect in the killing of Norris Jackson, a cook at the restaurant. Police also are seeking Goolsby's girlfriend, Leanne Robitaille, 23, in connection with the shooting.
The restaurant at the Plaza at Buckland Hills had just opened for the day when the shooting occurred at about 11:45 a.m., police spokesman Capt. Christopher Davis said. Jackson, 36, a father of seven, was pronounced dead at Hartford Hospital on Sunday.
The two men were arguing Saturday, Davis said. Asked whether the dispute involved negative Yelp reviews of Bonchon Chicken, Davis said he could not comment. The two men did not get along and the recent negative review or reviews fueled the dispute, according to law enforcement sources who wished to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to comment on the investigation.
Yelp reviews of the restaurant have been mixed, with many positive comments and a few negative reviews, including two on Friday.
Jackson, who grew up in Hartford, had been living with several of his children, his girlfriend and her three youngsters in East Hartford, but recently moved back to Hartford, his mother, Barbara Turner, said Monday.
Turner said Jackson started the job at Bonchon over the summer. Jackson was apparently not happy, at times, on the job. Recent posts on his own Facebook page included a photo on Nov. 15 that shows him raising a middle finger while working at a grill and deep-fryer station.
"They (expletive) with me at work," he wrote in the post.
On Dec. 20, Jackson posted _ "6 straight days all 12hr shifts. And I gotta due this (expletive) Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun ... "
In an interview at her home Monday, Turner said she had decided to let surgeons harvest her son's organs so that others would benefit. She posted on Facebook on Tuesday that Jackson's right kidney was donated to a 49-year-old man and saved his life.
"He's making a difference in somebody's life _ my son lives on in other people," she said.
Bonchon Chicken, an international fried chicken franchise based in South Korea, put out a brief statement over the weekend on its company Facebook page.
"We at Bonchon Franchise are deeply saddened by the tragic shooting in Manchester, CT today, and are deeply concerned about the family and friends who are suffering," the post reads. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim and their family as we also respect their privacy during this ordeal."
Police are asking anyone with information about the case to contact Detective Claire Hearn at (860) 645-5549.
