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Shanika Serdahl via Orange County Florida Sheriff's Office
Shanika Serdahl via Orange County Florida Sheriff's Office

‘A significant cut on his right eyebrow’: Alleged Pringles can attack leads to aggravated battery charges in Florida

The assailant "popped" and couldn't stop, as the Pringles slogan used to go.

A bizarre fight reportedly broke out recently at a 7-Eleven gas station in Orlando, FL, where a sheriff’s deputy found a man with “a significant cut on his right eyebrow and below his eye, causing him to bleed.” When interviewed, a 7-Eleven employee told police a woman attacked the man with a most unusual weapon, a Pringles can, before she fled.

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According to Florida news outlet WESH, 7-Eleven staff said the victim, identified as Martin Milburn, reported that there was a man lying down at the side of the building when his attacker, Shanika Serdahl, hit him in the head with a Pringles can, injuring his eye, and then ran. According to Serdahl’s arrest affidavit, “The cut looked significant and appeared that it would leave a scar and permanent disfigurement.” As for the chips, they reportedly went flying down an aisle, the affidavit said.

A he-said-she-said story

As was also revealed in Serdahl’s arrest affidavit, Milburn, the victim, said a man approached him outside the store and made a comment under his breath about his car. Once inside the 7-Eleven, Serdahl stood at the counter and appeared to have been drinking, Milburn said.

He added, “As I was standing in line, there was a young lady in front of me talking to the cashier, she seemed like she had been drinking. She stood to the side, and as I was about to pay for my drink, I asked the young lady if she knew the guy outside.” That’s when he alleged Serdahl struck him with the Pringles can.

As for Serdahl, she told police, “while inside the 7-Eleven [Milburn] was saying rude things to her,” being disrespectful and calling her names. But the employee who reported the fight said, “All the guy was doing was informing me of another male customer that was [lying] down on the side of the building,” when Serdahl “whacked him with the Pringles,” called him a name and then left the store.

Could shoplifting charges be coming?

After Serdahl got so salty, Milburn was treated for his injuries at the scene. Meanwhile, Serdahl, 28, was arrested a short time later and charged with aggravated battery. According to Law & Crime, when authorities tracked Serdahl down after the attack, she still had the Pringles can in her possession, and when asked if she paid for the chips, she said she wasn’t sure. “[D]ue to not having immediate access to the cameras Shanika was not charged for the petty theft” — legalese for shoplifting — “due to the lack of evidence at the time of arrest,” the deputy’s report stated.

Those involved in the convenience store scrum are okay. So, here are a few social media comments about the strange news, including “Hard hitting, impactful headlines,” and, “Sounds like she had a chip on her shoulder!” But most appropriate for a story like this, “Only in Florida,” as several comments stated.


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Author
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William Kennedy
William Kennedy is a full-time freelance content writer and journalist in Eugene, OR. William covered true crime, among other topics for Grunge.com. He also writes about live music for the Eugene Weekly, where his beat also includes arts and culture, food, and current events. He lives with his wife, daughter, and two cats who all politely accommodate his obsession with Doctor Who and The New Yorker.