“My brother, 12, was injured and crying after Sainsbury’s security guard hit him.”

Chioma Smith claims her little brother was “racially profiled” and “discriminated against” and came home “crying” and “bruises” after the incident

A schoolboy was left in tears after a Sainsbury’s security guard hit him while he was visiting the store to buy snacks.

The sister of 12-year-old Taharka Campbell says her younger brother previously visited the New Kent Road branch in Elephant and Castle, where he was followed by a security guard. MyLondon reported.

Chioma Smith says her 8th grade sibling was “racially profiled” and “discriminated against” and that he came home “crying” and “bruises” after the incident.

A witness – Juanita Phillips, who filmed the guard – intervened and shared it on social media, urging people to help her get in touch with the boy’s family.

When Chioma received the footage, they said it was “terrible” and left her mother in tears.

Chioma said: “It was very, very horrible. My mother cried because she was so upset.

“Nobody in our family has ever touched him, so it’s disgusting when a stranger feels like it’s okay to do it, to be honest.

“But it was just awful. Now he’s traumatized.

“He doesn’t want to leave the house. He actually cried.

“He was very upset. He has a bruise.

“He doesn’t know how to deal with it because he’s never experienced anything like it.

“And his voice isn’t even broken yet. He’s still small.

“The guard was much taller than him. Much taller than him. You can tell he’s a minor and an adult.”

Taharka’s sister says her brother came straight home and cried when he told her he only went to the store to buy some snacks.

She said: “My brother just went to the store to buy some snacks.

“You know, it’s after school and you’re going to grab some snacks and go home.

“He asked another security guard if he could park his bike behind the security desk because he didn’t have a chain.

“The man agreed and allowed them to park their bike, then they went to get their snacks.

“And the other security just followed them around the store to see if they were stealing.”

Chioma says the boys ended up asking the attendant why he was following them around the store.

She said, “So when they asked him why you were following us, he’s basically just mad at them like, ‘I know you’re stealing, you have to leave the store because you’re stealing.’

“He had no evidence or evidence. He didn’t see them putting anything in their pockets or putting anything in their pocket. He found nothing on them.”

Video taken by the witness showed her brother begging the guard to “do nothing.”

The 24-year-old says the ordeal was a case of racial profiling and discrimination, and she was told by witnesses the guard made “vile” comments about her brother.

Chioma said, “A woman told me she heard him say, ‘Poor black boys who like to steal.’ I think it was most likely discrimination.”

She continued, “It draws attention to things like that. That it happens very often.

“It’s about getting the recognition so people understand that this is a problem. To see it’s my brother. That was the example.

“But it’s nice to see that there are a lot of people just like us who support a lot for a stop.”

A Sainsbury’s spokesman said: “We are urgently investigating this incident.”

A Met spokesman said: “On Wednesday May 25, police were called to a shop on New Kent Road where they spoke to a group of people who reported that a member of security staff had assaulted a child the previous day would have.

“The alleged victim was not present and did not contact the police.”

A spokesman for the security firm – Mitie, who guarded Sainsbury’s, said: “We have strong professional standards backed by a strict code of conduct which we expect staff to uphold at times.

“Racism and discrimination have no place in our business and will not be tolerated.

“We take this incident very seriously and it is already being investigated as a matter of priority.”