German Heroes Who Beat Down Migrant Thief Being Investigated by Police

A viral video showing members of a "people's militia" tackling an abusive Iraqi shoplifter has been watched over a quarter of a million times in just 24 hours since it was uploaded. The short clip, which depicts an incident in Arnsdorf, Germany on Tuesday, was uploaded to uncensored media sharing site LiveLeak in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Mirrored on YouTube but quickly taken down for violating site regulations, the video was watched hundreds of thousands of times in just a few hours.

German police have now confirmed the incident, reports Die Welt, and that the so-called "refugee" had already been the subject of police attention twice that day. On both occasions, he had been returned by officers to a psychiatric clinic where he was staying.

A police spokesman has confirmed that officers are considering charging the migrant for his abusive behaviour, and the three vigilantes for unlawful detention.