Shocking moment dog-beating man is taken down by Good Samaritans after they spotted him hitting the animal with a metal chain outside a Florida gas station

A Florida man is currently behind bars after a crowd of people say he allegedly beat a dog in broad daylight.

Julio Rivera, 31, is facing a handful of charges that, in addition to cruelty towards an animal, include child abuse, battery, and resisting and officer.

Animal lover Raymon Prush says he saw the violent incident unfurl after the dog, who was on a walk with her owner, ‘turned its head to smell a tire,’ which prompted the owner to yank the dog and hit it ‘in the face with the chain.’

‘What I witnessed yesterday was ridiculous,’ Prush said during an interview with local NBC affiliate WESH2.

When Prush saw what was going on on the side of the road, he says he pulled his car into a nearby gas station and confronted Rivera about beating the animal with a metal chain.

The pair shouted as the situation escalated.

‘That’s when he started wailing [whipping] the dog numerous times,’ said Prush.

Rivera allegedly whipped the dog ‘until the chain broke.’

‘Once that happened, the dog got behind me,’ he continued.

According to Sheriff Mike Chitwood, the suspect then punched Prush in the face and also physically harassed several other witnesses gathered around the gas station.

Chitwood said that after Prush was punched, a ’13-year-old then steps in.’

‘He (Rivera) swings and tries to hit the 13-year-old. And then another couple manages to get the dog away from him and get the dog inside their vehicle. He then attacks that couple as well.’

In a clip of the upsetting encounter, Prush can be seen apparently grabbing Rivera and placing him in a ‘hold’ to prevent him from snatching the dog back.

One witness documented in the police report said of Rivera: ‘This man should never own an animal or be around them.’

Prush said once the confrontation had de-escalated, the dog was ‘running scared.’

‘But she – I don’t know how many times she received these beatings. It was like she wasn’t defending yourself against this. She was just receiving,’ he added.

The dog was reportedly injured, but will recover. 

Chitwood said that Rivera has had several previous run-ins with the law.

‘This guy’s got a problem with his anger,’ he said.

‘And, you know, I’m very, very proud of the residents of Deltona that saw what was happening. I mean, as young as 13 knew, we got to do something here where this dog could end up dead.’

Rivera has previous domestic violence and battery charges.

On Friday, he was being held at the Volusia County Jail on a $51,000 bond.