All hell broke loose at a wedding ceremony in Ohio when tensions between the two families escalated into a ballroom brawl moments after the couple exchanged vows.
Videos by Wide Open Country
A band of brothers crashed the wedding and allegedly began attacking members of the opposite family, leading to a fancy-dressed fracas.
The wedding-day brawl took place around 8:50 PM on Friday inside the La Centre Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio.
"We were dancing and four brothers jumped on us," an alleged victim told cops, according to video obtained by Fox8 Cleveland and KHOU.
Investigators said surveillance video from La Centre shows a large group of people pouring out of the building, where the fight escalated between two groups of men.
Bloody Brawl Breaks Out at Wedding
"We knew violence already happened from independent witnesses who called us, who said people were blood. So we know there's already violence going on. We don't know if there are weapons," Westlake Police Captain Jerry Vogel said.
Westlake police called for mutual aid from Bay Village, Rocky River and Fairview Park.
The fight was still going on when officers arrived.
One attendee threw a chair at an armed brawler, who was wielding a butter knife.
Dozens of wedding guests fled the venue, sprinting into the parking lot to avoid the melee.
It is unclear what inspired the animosity between the two sides. However, they weren't going to let a few wedding bells mask the bad blood between them.
"People who don't normally get together and have hostilities against each other got together for whatever reason," Vogel 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."
Police said 47-year-old Ali Wahdan was arrested and charged with violating the court order that had been granted by a judge to protect members of a family attending the wedding.
"Under the law, if you see this person, even if you're there accidentally at the same time, you have to leave. It is your responsibility to leave. This person chose not to leave," Vogel said.
Detectives said another guest, Raed Mahmoud Sulaiman, was also arrested and charged with assault.
