Arrest May Be Tied to Slayings at Restaurant

The task force investigating the slayings of seven people at a fast-food restaurant arrested one man Friday but refused to say if he was connected to the massacre.

Rashaad S. Brooks was being held on warrants for a Dec. 29 suburban robbery and failure to appear on a charge of aggravated assault, investigators said.

“It is certainly obvious that Mr. Brooks was arrested based on information received by police and information received by the task force,” said Andy Knott, a spokesman for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

The arrest was announced at a brief news conference following a news report that three men had been taken into custody in the slayings and that a fourth was being sought.

Knott and Palatine Deputy Police Chief Walt Gasior refused to comment about the news report.

“We are not going to comment specifically on people we are questioning, possible suspects or possible motives,” Gasior said.

The slayings were discovered last Saturday at a Brown’s Chicken & Pasta restaurant. The couple that owned the restaurant and five employees, including two high school students, had been shot. One woman’s throat had been slashed.