A video of a boy being beaten on the street has caused widespread anger online.

The footage shows a toddler playing with a broom in front of outlets before a man comes and kicks him in the head and starts stamping on him nonstop for 37 seconds in Luochuan county, Yan'an of Northwest China's Shaanxi province on May 4.

The man then used the boy's broom and dustpan to repeatedly hit him. While he was getting beaten mercilessly, several people passed by but did not help the toddler. The boy was finally rescued when shopkeepers intervened and rushed the boy to hospital.

The man, named Wang Jiaolong, 29, has been detained, while the victim, who is two years old, suffered skull fracture and several soft tissue injuries, but is now out of danger, according to police.

The man's father said Wang is a schizophrenic, reported Beijing News. The boy was discharged from hospital on May 7, said the official micro-blog of Central China Television. An investigation is underway.