What happened: A 22-year-old man was injured and placed in a medically induced coma after a confrontation at a Chuck E. Cheese in Sylvania Township on Feb. 15. The altercation began in a restroom, then spilled into the lobby and parking lot.
Aftermath: Police body-camera footage captured the brawl; two men were arrested—Derrick Jones, charged with felonious assault, and Keshawn Fell, charged with disorderly conduct. Family members said children at the party were terrified.
A 22-year-old man was hospitalized and placed in a medically induced coma after a violent confrontation erupted during a 5-year-old's birthday party at a Chuck E. Cheese in Sylvania Township, a suburb of Toledo, Ohio, on Feb. 15.
Local news outlets WTVG and WTOL report the altercation began inside a restroom at the family entertainment center and quickly escalated into a larger brawl that moved into the lobby and the parking lot. Police body-worn camera footage obtained by the stations shows two groups arguing and then physically fighting near several parked vehicles. At one point, an officer appears to attempt to pull a driver from a vehicle as the car lurches forward, then reverses and strikes a pickup truck while bystanders shout in the background.
The 22-year-old victim, identified by family members as the birthday girl's uncle but not publicly named by authorities, suffered a broken eye socket and was placed in a medically induced coma, WTVG reported. Relatives described a chaotic scene as they scrambled to protect children who were attending the party.
"I grabbed my brother, like, 'Brother. Please talk to me. Talk to me. I'm here,'" the victim's sister, who asked to remain anonymous, told WTVG. "It was my baby's birthday. I was throwing this for her. Now my baby is traumatized."
"All I could do is grab everybody's kids and try to get them up against the wall and try to get them away from it," an aunt said. "They literally were running through the whole entire building. And all I could do was think to protect the kids."
WTVG reported that two men, identified as Derrick Jones and Keshawn Fell, were arrested after the incident. Jones was charged with felonious assault; Fell faces a disorderly conduct charge stemming from an incident that followed the fight. Both men pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.
Family members expressed disbelief that adults would engage in a fight inside a children's venue. Attempts to reach Chuck E. Cheese and the Sylvania Township Police Department for comment on Feb. 21 were not immediately successful, according to People.
The investigation remains active and authorities have released limited information while charges proceed through the local court system.
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