A man caught on CCTV throwing punches and projectiles at an Upper Hutt bottle store as staff and customers scrambled to escape him was taken to hospital after injuring himself in the melee.

The incident happened after the 42-year-old allegedly tried to steal a six-pack of drinks from the shop, and was told repeatedly to leave.

He has now been charged with assault and trespassed from the store after the dramatic Saturday night “unprovoked attack”.

The Rimutaka Tavern bar and bottle shop posted online about the incident, saying he had been barred from the store after the alleged unsuccessful theft attempt. He returned to the Fergusson Dr shop shortly after and was again told to leave.

He remained in the car park and was acting in an “intimidating manner”, the post said.

Tavern staff called 111 to report the situation.

Thirty minutes later, the man entered the store a third time and was again shown the door.

Security camera footage shows him then, seemingly without warning, punching a passing customer in the face.

The bewildered bystander moves aside, and can be seen leaping out of the way as a staff member flees past him and a bottle appears to fly across the room, bounce off his side and smash on the floor. He narrowly misses catching another punch as the man runs back into the shot, swinging his arm widely.

Footage shows customers and staff scrambling to escape as the incident unfolds.

The alleged attacker is then seen pulling a large bottle out of a fridge before running off camera again.

Police said they were called to the scene just before 6.20pm with a report about a man entering the bottle store in a “disorderly manner” and assaulting two people.

The man was taken into custody and an ambulance was called for him because of an injury to his foot.

Police charged the man with three counts of common assault and have trespassed him from the store.

The tavern posted about the “serious” incident online.

“We will not tolerate any threats or violence toward our staff or customers,” the post read.

“Our tavern is a place for people to feel safe, and we will always stand by our team and our community.”

Assistant manager Aerin Shanley, 26, said she was kicked and hit in the incident.

She was “scared” and had some bruises but did not suffer any serious injuries.

“It was an unprovoked attack and I wasn’t prepared for it,” she told the Herald.

CCTV footage shows the man being asked to leave the store.

Shanley said she knew the man because he had visited Rimutaka Tavern’s bar and bottle store several times but had never been aggressive.

She felt “a bit anxious” at the possibility of him visiting the store again but said she and her colleagues “will be prepared”.

According to the tavern, the man injured himself on the bottle he threw.

The tavern apologised to the customer who was punched during the incident, saying it hoped he was okay and encouraging him to get in touch.

It commended its staff members for acting “incredibly bravely” while handling “a very frightening situation”.

The man is due to appear in Hutt Valley District Court today.

Janhavi Gosavi is a Wellington-based journalist for the New Zealand Herald who covers news in the capital.