A Milwaukee man has been charged after allegedly poisoning his coworker’s soda with superglue and other chemicals in a disturbing workplace revenge plot that left the victim hospitalized and shaken.

What started as an ordinary shift at a manufacturing plant in Milwaukee quickly turned into a disturbing tale of workplace betrayal when one employee landed in the hospital after unknowingly drinking from a soda bottle laced with toxic chemicals—including, bizarrely, superglue.

The man who allegedly tampered with the drink? His longtime coworker, who now faces serious charges in what authorities are calling a calculated act of poisoning.

The victim, a 54-year-old man whose name has not been publicly released, said he noticed something off as soon as he took the first sip of his soda. The taste was sharp, chemical, and unmistakably wrong.

Moments later, his mouth began to burn, and he rushed to rinse it out before calling for help. What he didn’t know then was that his drink had been intentionally sabotaged—right there at his workplace, and possibly while his back was turned.

According to prosecutors, the culprit was identified as 61-year-old Kenneth E. Lipp, who allegedly tampered with his colleague’s Pepsi bottle not once, but multiple times over the course of several weeks.

In one instance, Lipp was captured on surveillance footage approaching the victim’s workstation while the soda bottle was unattended. Minutes later, the victim returned, took a drink, and immediately began showing signs of distress.

An investigation later revealed that the bottle had been laced with a bizarre and dangerous mix of substances—including superglue, glass cleaner, and other chemicals not meant for ingestion. Detectives said the concoction could have caused serious internal injuries if consumed in large quantities.

Lipp was arrested and charged with felony placing foreign objects in edibles and recklessly endangering safety. If convicted, he could face several years in prison. In court, Lipp appeared emotionless, offering no explanation for his alleged actions. He has not yet entered a plea.

The motive behind the poisoning remains unclear, but coworkers say there had been longstanding tension between Lipp and the victim. “They didn’t get along,” one employee told investigators. “But no one thought it would ever come to something like this.”

The victim, who was treated at a local hospital and released, has since recovered physically—but the psychological impact of the incident has lingered.

According to a friend, he now refuses to bring or leave food and drink unattended at work. “He’s paranoid, and honestly, who wouldn’t be?” the friend said. “He trusted the people around him.”

The case has shocked both the local community and workplace safety advocates, who say it highlights the dark side of unresolved conflict and the need for stricter protocols in shared work environments.

While petty disputes and personality clashes are common in most workplaces, acts of sabotage—especially ones that could cause physical harm—are rare but not unheard of.

“This is a chilling reminder that some grudges go beyond words,” said one labor psychologist. “Workplace violence doesn’t always look like what we expect. It can be silent, calculated, and hidden behind a smile.”

The company at the center of the incident, which has not been publicly named, released a statement expressing deep concern and confirming that Lipp is no longer employed there.

“We take the safety of our employees extremely seriously,” the statement read. “This behavior is completely unacceptable, and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement.”

Court documents detail a disturbing pattern. In addition to tampering with the drink, investigators say Lipp may have made other attempts to sabotage the victim’s workspace, including contaminating food left in the employee fridge and misplacing personal items.

Though only the drink tampering has led to formal charges so far, authorities have not ruled out additional counts as the investigation continues.

This isn’t Lipp’s first encounter with trouble. A background check revealed a minor criminal history, though nothing of this magnitude.

Neighbors described him as quiet, private, and “a bit odd,” but never imagined him as capable of such behavior. “It’s creepy to think someone like that was just going to work every day with something like this on his mind,” one neighbor said.

The story has since gone viral, with people across the country reacting in disbelief to the idea of superglue and glass cleaner being used in an act of revenge. On social media, reactions range from horror to dark humor, with some calling it “straight out of a Netflix true crime series.”

But for the victim and his loved ones, it’s anything but entertainment. The trauma of being targeted in a place that’s supposed to feel safe has left lasting emotional scars.

“He goes to work to provide for his family, not to be poisoned,” a relative said. “We’re grateful he caught it in time, but this could’ve ended much worse.”

As the legal process unfolds, the case stands as a grim reminder of the hidden dangers that can lurk even in the most familiar places. For now, Kenneth Lipp remains behind bars, awaiting trial, and Milwaukee has been left to grapple with a question no one ever wants to ask:

What kind of person turns a soda bottle into a weapon?