Customers of a Tim Hortons restaurant in Vernon, B.C., are being asked to come forward after a man allegedly splattered blood from a cut on his hand at people inside.

According to RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk, the 23-year-old man was allegedly aiming the blood directly at people in the restaurant and splattered several customers.

"It would be disturbing for anybody," Molendyk said. "[There is] more and more awareness about communicable diseases transmitted through blood or bodily fluids, so when it is directed at somebody and people are eating, it [is] very much a concern."

The man was arrested outside the restaurant and remains in custody, and police are investigating the incident as an assault. Anyone who witnessed the incident or had blood directed at them is asked to contact Vernon RCMP.

