No, this is not a joke article, and yes, you read the headline right. Meteor Buffet in Huntsville, Alabama, was home to an impromptu brawl when two patrons began to fight over crab legs.
Gerald Johnson, a police officer who was present and eating his meal when the fight broke out, intervened immediately.
Sometimes you’re hungry enough to just fight about it. That was certainly true of John Chapman and Chequita Jenkins, the two buffet patrons who were arrested following the brawl. Officer Johnson stated that he had only taken a few bites of his food before he had to intervene in the fight.
Speaking to WHNT 19 News, Johnson stated “Literally, as I sat down and maybe took two bites out of my plate, there’s a woman who’s beating a man. People are moving around, plates are shattering everywhere.”
According to Johnson, the two buffet patrons were using the serving tongs as weapons. “It’s not something you typically hear, if you can imagine a fencing match,” Johnson humorously noted of the impromptu duel. “Everyone was saying, ‘They cut me in line. She cut me in line. He cut me in line. I was here first.’”
According to Johnson, tempers were high due to the long wait for the crab legs. “They’d been waiting there for the crab legs for a good 10, 20 minutes. When they finally came out, it’s very heated. Especially if someone is taking more than their fair share,” the officer told the news station.
Jenkins was arrested and charged with third-degree assault. Her children were with her when she got into the fight. Chapman, for his part, was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. It would appear as though no other patrons were harmed in the ensuing brawl.
