Three teenagers arrested after video of 12-year-old boy being punched and kicked by bullies posted on Facebook
The three boys, all aged 13, were detained on suspicion of assault after the video - which shows the victim being repeatedly beaten while he lies on the ground - was viewed by more than 200,000 users
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Three teenage boys have been arrested after a video showing a 12-year-old boy being punched and kicked was posted on Facebook.
The boys, all 13, were taken into custody on suspicion of assault after the video was viewed by more than 200,000 users and shared more than 4,000 times on the social networking site.
The video shows the victim being dragged through a garden and savagely punched and kicked as he cowers on the ground. He is briefly able to escape and to knock on a window for help, but is then knocked to the ground again as the assault continues.
The faces of the attackers cannot be seen during the brief video, which has since been taken down from Facebook.
All three arrested boys are from the Heaton area of Bradford, West Yorkshire police said.
Officers are investigating and have spoken to the family of the victim who said that he is safe and well, the force said in a statement.
DCI Terry Long said: "I would like to thank the public for bringing this incident to our attention, and would like to reassure them that any similar reports will be dealt with positively."