Alabama mayor, councilor in hospital after brawl, both pressing charges

(Reuters) -- A fight on Tuesday between the mayor of Alabama's largest city and a city councilor ended with both men in hospital and planning to press charges against each other, officials said.

Birmingham mayor William Bell was seeking the arrest of city councilor Marcus Lundy, who also planned to pursue charges against the mayor, according to statements from their offices.

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The mayor's office issued a short statement saying that Bell was recovering at a hospital and had initiated a police report. He was receiving a CT scan and an MRI, the city said on Twitter.

The altercation occurred during a routine council meeting, city council president Johnathan Austin said in a statement.

"It's a sad day when council members are attacked while trying to do the job that they were elected to do," he said, calling the incident the result of ongoing "lack of respect."

The incident occurred when the two politicians were talking in a back room, news website AL.com reported.

Details on what started the fight were not immediately available.

Birmingham police said they expected a report to be released later on Tuesday.

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