A young man has been charged with two offences after footage of a slap attack on a suspected shoplifter in east London went viral.
Quaise Khademi, 23, was charged with battery and a public order offence following the incident in a branch of Costcutter in Newham.
A video posted online on Friday showed a man hitting a customer suspected of stuffing goods into his bag.
He slaps the man around the head, landing 11 blows, while threatening the man and warning him not to steal from the store because it is “not a f****** ordinary shop”.
It was referred to the Metropolitan Police on Saturday and Scotland Yard announced yesterday that an arrest had been made.
Costcutter has condemned the incident while pointing out that the store is owned independently.
A spokesman said: "We are shocked by the events shown in this video and we fully appreciate the level of concern people are expressing.
"We want to make it absolutely clear that we find this incident totally unacceptable and there is absolutely no place for it within our business.
"We have been informed by the police that a man has been arrested and charged in connection with the events within the video and we will continue to work closely with the police while their investigations continue."
Khademi, of Ardleigh Road, Hackney, will appear at Thames Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.
