A 21-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of shoplifting after an incident yesterday at a Hamilton department store.

The man was detained at hospital shortly after an alleged theft at Brown & Co, according to a police spokesman.

A trail of blood could be seen over several blocks through Hamilton in the aftermath of the incident, which was reported to police shortly after 11am.

According to the spokesman, staff believed they saw a man remove an item from a shelf and conceal it on his person.

After a security guard followed the suspect, the man fled the premises, injuring his hand against a glass door on the way out.

“A 21-year-old male later attended the hospital for treatment of a hand injury and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of shoplifting,” the spokesman added. “Inquiries into this incident continue.”

As of midday, a police officer was still on scene at the shop’s Queen Street entrance, which had been closed to the public.

Nearby shopkeepers told The Royal Gazette they heard glass shattering and shards from one of the door panels could be seen on the ground, while blood splatter trailed up Queen Street.

Staff of one Queen Street store, who asked not to be identified, said they heard a “loud bang” some time between 10am and 11am.

“It sounded like a lot of glass breaking,” one woman said.

Another added: “We just heard this loud bang but didn’t know where it was coming from.”

Sarah Fields, manager of Riihiluoma’s Flying Colours across the street, also heard the commotion over the shop noise.

“We just heard a crash,” she said.

“It sounded like tinkling glass.”

Other shopkeepers along Queen Street noticed the blood trail running up the street, with some making efforts to clean it up.