Ohio wedding guests were dancing when a fight broke out. Then a man armed himself with a butter knife: ‘I don’t know what he was thinking’

Guests at a wedding reception in Westlake, Ohio, were still on the dance floor when a fight erupted among families that police later described as having long-standing hostility. Video from inside the hall and from outside the building later showed men in suits shoving, punching, and scattering as chairs and tables were knocked over.

One man picked up a butter knife from a table setting during the clash, according to footage released by the Westlake Police Department. Women can be heard screaming in the clip as the disturbance moved from the ballroom toward the parking lot.

Officers from four departments were called to La Centre Banquet Facility, after multiple 911 calls. Police said two people were taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, reports The Mirror.

Police say three men were arrested after the fight spilled outside

Westlake police said the disturbance had already left the ballroom by the time the first units arrived. “Officers from Westlake arrived to find numerous persons outside the facility, some still in physical and verbal confrontations,” the department said.

The venue’s general manager can be heard on a 911 recording telling the dispatcher, “There’s a fight at our venue.” He added, “There’s a bunch of people that are involved.” Such tensions can surface at weddings, like when a bride demanded guests cook for themselves and others, then had a horrible idea to poison the food.

Westlake Police Captain Jerry Vogel said dispatchers received reports of bleeding guests and a weapon before officers reached the scene. He said the weapon in question was the butter knife. “I don’t know what he was thinking but it is a weapon, it’s a piece of metal that can be used to hurt somebody,” Vogel said.

Bodycam video recorded after police arrived shows a man in a blue suit pointing toward people in the crowd. He told officers the fight was “between 3 brothers, 4 brothers” and said, “We were dancing and four brothers jumped on us.” He also said, “Listen, he attacked us. This one too.”

Vogel later described the gathering as one that brought together people who do not usually mix. “People who don’t normally get together and have hostilities against each other got together for whatever reason,” he said. “In this case, it was somebody’s wedding. I don’t know all the relationships that were involved but when they got together, everything came back to the surface.”

Raed Mahmoud Sulaiman, 46, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, was arrested and charged with assault, inducing panic, and tampering with evidence, according to accounts tied to the circulating video. Police said he is accused of brandishing the butter knife and that he allegedly discarded it before officers arrived.

Ali Wahdan, 47, of Cleveland, was charged with violating a protection order involving family members who were at the wedding, police said. Abdallah Wahdan, 48, of Ohio, was charged with aggravated menacing after he was accused of threatening several guests. Authorities said additional charges remain possible after a review by the Westlake prosecutor.

Once the arrests were completed, police said the reception went on. Wedding celebrations can sometimes take unexpected turns, as when 200 guests sat through a seven-hour reception only to realize dinner was never coming.

Video shared by Instagram account @lindaikejiblog later showed the indoor scramble, outdoor CCTV of the parking-lot fight, and the bodycam exchange. Viewers reacting to the post focused on the families involved. One commenter wrote, “Nnaehhh they couldn’t even wait for the reception to be over.” Another wrote, “Imagine getting married into that family.” A third said, “Whole family a red flag.” Someone else added, “Already tells what the marriage will look like.”