Family Dinner Erupts Into Violent Chinese Food Fight

A Florida man and his daughter were charged with assaulting a third member of their family after a domestic dispute over Chinese takeout food turned violent.

According to investigators, a fight started Friday night at a home in Wildwood, a city in Central Florida close to The Villages retirement community. Bruce Schell, 51, lives there with his wife, daughter Atlantis, and son, who police identified as the victim of the battery.

As detailed in an arrest report, the Schell family had “ordered Chinese food but the takeout containers were not labeled,” which upset Schell since he did not know “which container of food was his.”

Schell’s son, police reported, said that he argued with his father and sister over the Chinese food “due to the fact that the victim had eaten [his father’s] food unknowingly.” According to the victim, the argument became physical when his sister began punching him in the face. Schell then allegedly joined the brawl and choked his son.

Police said Schell’s wife was in her bedroom when she heard “crashing and yelling in the kitchen area.” When the woman entered the kitchen, she saw Atlantis pummeling the victim, who was being choked by Schell. The woman added that the battering ended only after she dialed 911 for assistance.

Police noted “visible red marks on the front side of his neck” and “fresh bruising/redness on his left eye” and said that neither defendant “appeared to have any marks or bruises from this incident.”

Schell and Atlantis were both arrested for misdemeanor battery. Schell was also charged with felony domestic battery by strangulation. Each defendant was released on bond from the Sumter County jail early Sunday morning.