Man armed with plates of whipped cream is assaulting people in one SC city, cops say
UPDATE: A suspect has been identified in the reported whipped cream assaults and a warrant for third-degree assault and battery has been issued, according to Greenville police. The suspect’s identity has not been released. The original story is below:
Multiple instances of a man hitting people in the face with plates of whipped cream have been reported in Upstate South Carolina, and police are taking the matter seriously.
It is happening in downtown Greenville, about 100 miles northwest of Columbia, and irreverent social media commenters have taken to calling the culprit “The Cool Whip Bandit” and a “serial whip creamer.”
No one appears to be off limits when it comes to victims.
“At approximately 2:30 pm, officers responded to an assault near the Main Street bridge,” the Greenville Police Department said in an April 13 Facebook post.
“A woman was walking on the sidewalk, pushing her child in a stroller, when (a man) hit her in the face with a plate of whipped cream. There have been multiple incidents of this occurring today.”
Investigators have a person of interest, and shared a photo of him appearing to hold a plate of cream in one hand and a can of whipped cream in the other.
“If anyone can identify the suspect, please call us at 864-271-5333 or Crime Stoppers at 864-23-CRIME,” police said.
The department’s Facebook post drew hundreds of reactions, comments and jokes, including some who wondered if it was a social media challenge. Others guessed the suspect “lost a bet.”
“If it were my friends it would be funny. But to just do it to a random stranger ... I don’t like that,” Casi Jones wrote on the department’s Facebook page. “You don’t know what people are capable of these days.”
“Make sure detention isn’t serving pie,” Bryan Horton posted.
“He should turn himself in and get his just deserts, or desserts as the case may be,” David Crawford Bixby said.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 4:18 PM with the headline "Man armed with plates of whipped cream is assaulting people in one SC city, cops say."