Man Who Attacked Nurse With Scissors Guilty of Kidnapping, Assault, Sentenced to Prison

Image: 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office

 

A Georgia man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for a 2023 South Carolina hospital attack in which he held a nurse hostage at knifepoint with stolen scissors, attempting to drag her out of the emergency room before staff intervened.

Guilty Plea and Sentencing

Marc Kaikala, 40, of Savannah, pleaded guilty on July 24, 2025, in Jasper County court to kidnapping and first-degree assault. He was sentenced to:

• 12 years in prison for kidnapping
  
  
• 10 years for felony assault

Both sentences will run concurrently.

Kaikala’s trial had been scheduled for August 18, 2025, but his guilty plea eliminated the need for a jury trial.

The 2023 Hospital Attack

The incident took place on May 27, 2023, inside the emergency room of Coastal Carolina Medical Center in Hardeeville, South Carolina.

Prosecutors said Kaikala, who was being treated as a patient, grabbed a pair of scissors from a passing nursing assistant and turned them on the nurse caring for him.

According to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Kaikala pressed the scissors against the nurse’s neck and began dragging her toward an exit in an attempt to force her out of the ER. Other staff members were able to intervene, and the nurse—who was injured during the assault—required medical treatment after the incident.

Prosecutors Praise Staff Response

Assistant Solicitor Logan Mallett said the quick actions of the nurse and hospital staff prevented a far worse outcome:

“This dangerous situation could have ended very differently if not for the quick and brave actions of the victim and fellow healthcare workers,” Mallett said in a press release. “This defendant needed to be held accountable for his actions, and that happened this week.”

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