A 5-year-old girl’s birthday party turned into a scene of chaos and sirens inside a suburban Ohio Chuck E. Cheese — and now her 22-year-old uncle is fighting for his life.
Family members say what was supposed to be a joyful celebration ended with shattered bones, screaming children, and a young man placed in a medically induced coma.
The violent clash erupted on February 15 at a Chuck E. Cheese in Sylvania Township, outside Toledo. According to local outlet WTVG, the fight began inside the restaurant’s bathroom before spilling into the lobby and eventually the parking lot.
Police body camera footage shows two groups arguing and throwing punches near parked cars. At one point, an officer appears to order a driver out of a vehicle. The car suddenly lurches forward and then reverses, slamming into a pickup truck as people shout in the background.
Authorities arrested two men: Derrick Jones, who faces a charge of felonious assault, and Keshawn Fell, who was charged with disorderly conduct related to events after the fight. Both pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.
But for one family, the legal process is secondary to the trauma left behind.
The 22-year-old victim — identified only as the birthday girl’s uncle — suffered a broken eye socket and collapsed during the brawl, according to WTVG. Doctors later placed him in an induced coma.
His sister, who asked not to be named, said the nightmare unfolded in front of her young daughter.
“I grabbed my brother, like, ‘Brother. Please talk to me. Talk to me. I’m here,’” she recalled. “It was my baby’s birthday. I was throwing this for her. Now my baby is traumatized.”
Another relative described scrambling to shield children as adults fought around them.
“All I could do was grab everybody’s kids and try to get them up against the wall and try to get them away from it,” the aunt said. “They literally were running through the whole entire building. And all I could think was to protect the kids.”
Family members expressed disbelief that a fight would break out in a venue designed for children.
“You knew when you went in the bathroom to fight, you knew that this was a kid’s establishment,” one relative said. “You knew that.”
Chuck E. Cheese, the Texas-based chain known for hosting children’s birthday parties across America, has not publicly commented on the incident. Local police have also not released additional details about what sparked the confrontation.
For the little girl at the center of it all, the balloons and birthday cake have been replaced with hospital visits and unanswered questions.
What was meant to be a memory of laughter and arcade games has become something far darker — a reminder of how quickly celebration can turn into chaos.
What provoke that fight at the child’s birthday party? That is the last straw.
These two punks need to be deported….bye bye
“Both pleaded not guilty and were released on bond.”
EXPLANATION: In Ohio, pleas are entered during the arraignment phase of a criminal proceeding.
God bless the Uncle who is in a coma.
“Is it THEM again, Yogi?” “It’s ALWAYS THEM, Boo Boo.”