Wild Ohio wedding brawl leaves guests injured as man allegedly threatens crowd with butter knife
A long-running feud between two families boiled over at an Ohio wedding, triggering a sprawling brawl that left guests injured, drew police from several departments and ended with three men under arrest.
FOX 8 in Cleveland reported that Ali Wahdan, 47, Raed Mahmoud Sulaiman, 46, and Abdallah Wahdan, 48, were arrested after the Aug. 21 fight at La Centre Banquet Facility in Westlake.
Sulaiman, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, was charged with assault, inducing panic and tampering with evidence after police accused him of threatening guests with a butter knife and tossing it aside as officers arrived.
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Wahdan was charged with violating a temporary protection order, while Abdallah Wahdan of Westlake was charged with aggravated menacing for allegedly threatening other guests.
Fox News Digital obtained 911 calls, body camera footage and other video showing how the fight unfolded, beginning inside the banquet hall before spilling into the parking lot.
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"There’s a fight at our venue," the banquet hall’s general manager told a 911 operator, describing "a bunch of people" fighting inside and outside.
"Someone’s bleeding," he added, telling the operator that one man with a head injury was in a bathroom as the fight continued.
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When asked what was behind the brawl, the manager said it involved relatives.
Another 911 call captured shouting in the background, while a separate caller pleaded for police and said he had been attacked.
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"Somebody started beating me," the caller said.
Dashcam footage from the night of Aug. 21 shows an officer arriving at the venue to find a crowded parking lot filled with vehicles and people dressed for the wedding. As the response grew, Westlake police called for additional officers and requested help from neighboring departments.
Body camera footage shows officers moving through the crowd and trying to keep groups separated as guests poured out of the venue.
One man approached an officer to make a police report and said his group had been attacked while dancing.
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"We were dancing, and four brothers jumped on us," he told police during the encounter captured on the officer’s body camera.
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Cellphone video from inside the ballroom captured another part of the brawl as screams broke out among guests. A man in a suit, identified by police as Sulaiman, held what appeared to be a butter knife as several men rushed toward him and struggled to restrain him.
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Chairs were knocked over as nearby guests moved away from the confrontation.
Paramedics were called to treat injured guests as officers worked to bring the scene under control.
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Police Capt. Jerry Vogel told FOX 8 that officers knew people had already been injured but did not initially know whether anyone had a weapon.
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Once the groups were separated, investigators began piecing together what sparked the fight. Police said alcohol was not a factor and instead pointed to longstanding bad blood between the two families.
Investigators said Ali Wahdan was subject to a temporary protection order involving members of a family at the wedding and was required to leave when he encountered them.
"Under the law, if you see this person, even if you’re there accidentally at the same time, you have to leave," Vogel said. "It is your responsibility to leave."
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Police said Wahdan instead remained at the venue, allegedly helping set the confrontation in motion.
Despite the brawl, injuries and three arrests, the wedding was not over. Once officers restored order, the celebration resumed without further trouble.
The charges against the three men were filed in Rocky River Municipal Court.