Shoppers fled in terror after a man brandishing a meat cleaver stalked the aisles of a Tesco supermarket today.
Members of the public in the car park outside were alarmed to see shoppers exiting the Tesco Superstore en masse while police officers with guns ran past them into the store.
Terrifying footage shows the man grip the meat cleaver tight and hold it aloft, walking menacingly through the store and threatening everyone he came across.
A brave shopper captured the footage as the man held his arm outstretched with the meat cleaver in his hand while he walked into the fruits and vegetable section by the entrance to the store in Leicester.
Speaking to LeicestershireLive , the customer who filmed the footage said as soon as he entered the store he saw staff "rushing around and looking frightened" and customers "running out of the shop".
The De Montfort University worker was just nipping into the store to get a sandwich for lunch at 8.30am like he does every day, when his peace was shattered by the dramatic scenes.
As the alarm screeched, he tried to ignore it, thinking it would be a false alarm, until he realised the terrifying truth.
"That's when I realised it could be a lot more serious, and then I saw this bloke walking towards me down the aisle with a meat cleaver in his hand," he said.
"He was waving it about and shouting at people. I couldn't figure out what he was saying and I just ran out of the store as quickly as I could."
He added: "You could see the bloke with the meat cleaver still walking about, waving it at staff and shouting. I looked around and noticed that nobody else was filming it, so I took out my phone and started filming. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
"It probably wasn't the right reaction from me in hindsight but that's what I did. Maybe the police can use it and I've let them know."
The man said it was about five minutes before armed officers arrived at the shop.
He said: "I stood outside with the others for a while as this man with the blade was still running around inside. The staff said the police had been called but as I was leaving for work I decided to call them myself just in case and was told armed officers were on their way.
"They must have arrived just after I left.
"All in all, it was a pretty strange start to the working week. It's a day I won't forget in a hurry, but the main thing is I am okay and no-one else was hurt."
The store had been evacuated by the time armed police officers arrived.
An eyewitness said he saw a “police officer with a gun running towards the store”.
He added: “The store’s alarm was sounding and there were police cars arriving from all around. It looks like something serious has happened.”
Leicestershire Police said the man was making threats to people in the store.
A 37-year-old man, of Leicester, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of affray and currently remains in police custody.
The store is now back open and police remain at the scene.
