Security footage shows pepper spray attack on halal shop that left worker’s eyes ‘burning like crazy’

London police are investigating after two employees of a halal meat shop were attacked with pepper spray in the south end of the city on Thursday.

Shortly before 4 p.m., a man dressed in black with most of his face covered entered Mona’s Fine Meats and walked right up to the meat counter, said co-owner Ramadan Nagmoush, who saw the incident on security camera footage.

According to Nagmush, the man went behind the counter and sprayed a male employee in the face before running out of the store.

Lubna Hayajneh, a cashier at Mona’s Fine Meats, said she heard screams from the back of the store.

“At first I thought it was a prank and I thought he was a friend,” said Hayajneh, who was at the register when the incident happened. “But (the worker) started shouting so loudly. He was in pain.”

Hayajneh said she ran after the suspect.

“I caught him and after that he splashed me in the face,” Khayajne said. “I didn’t see anything. I just left it and put my hands over my face because it was burning like crazy.”

“I started screaming, crying, asking for help and putting my face in the cold water,” she said.

Nagmoosh said he received a phone call from his co-owner, who was in the store when the incident occurred.

“I was walking home and halfway my partner called me and said we were sprayed with something we don’t know about and everyone is sick,” said Nagmoosh, who had left the store 10 minutes earlier.

He said he called 9-1-1 and turned the car around. When he returned to the store, two employees had already been taken to the hospital and the police were on the scene.

On Friday, London police released a photo and description of the suspect, describing him as a white man, about 6 feet tall, wearing all black and a pair of safety glasses.

After the incident, the suspect ran away from the store in an unknown direction, the police report said.

Nagmush said Mona’s Fine Meats was closed for the rest of the day after the attack. The store reopened on Friday morning.

“It’s a big loss for us, but what can we do?” Nagmush said. “As long as my guys are OK, that’s all that matters.”

Hayajneh said she and the male worker were at the hospital for three hours Thursday afternoon before going home. She will return to work at the weekend.

“My eyes are red, but I’m fine,” Khajajne said. “The doctor said I should be very well tonight, as if nothing had happened.”

The employee returned to work on Friday, Nagmoosh said. He declined to speak to CBC News about the incident.

Mona’s Fine Meats specializes in halal meat, meaning meat that has been slaughtered according to Islamic law as defined in the Koran. Nagmoosh said the store, which has been open for 25 years, has a community of regular customers that includes both Muslims and non-Muslims.

Hayajneh said people have been calling her to sign up since hearing about the incident.

“I got maybe 50 calls this morning,” she said. “They say, ‘You’re a hero.’

“If you come to our store on a normal day, it’s not a store, we’re like a family with our customers,” Hayajneh said.

Nagmush said that the store had never experienced such incidents before. Both he and Hayajneh said they did not consider the act a hate crime.

“I don’t want to think like that,” said Nagmush. “It doesn’t look as far as I can see unless it’s a personal hate crime.”

London police are asking the public for help in identifying the suspect. Anyone who may have been in the area or has video or surveillance footage is asked to call the London Police Department at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.