This is the moment a man fatally kicks a blind woman’s guide dog in the head outside a lift because it barked at him.

The incident took place in an apartment block in the area of La Candelaria in the Venezuelan capital Caracas, and the suspect in the footage has been arrested and charged with animal abuse.

Tarek William Saab, head of the Public Ministry of Venezuela, shared the footage on Twitter where it has been viewed 220,000 times.

In the message, Saab said that the ministry’s “Special Prosecutor’s Office for Animal and Wildlife Protection” will “investigate and punish the brutal aggression that occurred in La Candelaria against a blind woman’s pet-guide who was mortally wounded by a psychopath.”

In the footage, the blind woman is seen waiting for a lift as a man approaches and her guide dog jumps and barks at him.

The man pretends to kick the animal but stops short. After exchanging a few words with the blind woman, he then kicks the dog hard in the head.

The dog sits on the floor before putting its head between its legs and rolling around the floor, apparently in distress.

Saab said the animal gradually lost consciousness and later died.

Following an investigation by the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Animal and Wildlife Protection, the man, named as Omar Antonio de Jesus Marrero, has been arrested.

The investigation is ongoing.