FORT BRAGG, N.C. – A Fort Bragg soldier is under investigation after a disturbing video surfaced on the Internet of his toddler son and another little boy punching and shoving each other as an unidentified man eggs them on.
The video was posted on YouTube, but later removed, The Fayetteville Observer reported Tuesday.
The video shows two small boys pushing and hitting each other while a man off-camera urges one to stay in the fight.
"Go on, hit him back. I don't care," an adult male voice can be heard saying.
At one point, one of the tots tries to crawl away, but the other one goes after him and continues punching and slapping him as the boy cries and covers himself with his arms as he tries to fend off his tiny attacker.
The unidentified father who allegedly taped the toddlers' fight is a soldier in the Army Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.
His ex-wife brought the video to the Army's attention, and the little boy has been removed from his care and is staying with a relative, KTLA-TV reported. Special Operations spokeswoman Carol Darby said the video is at the center of a child custody dispute.
The Army said in a prepared statement that it was cooperating with other authorities and didn't condone the soldier's actions.
"The behavior displayed by the parents in the video is neither condoned nor indicative of soldiers in this command or the Army," the statement read. "This command will take the appropriate actions as required and will continue to cooperate with civilian agencies."
Click here for the video and more on this story from KTLA.com. (WARNING: DISTURBING IMAGES.)
Click here for more on this story from Military.com.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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