Story By: Ana Lacasa, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

This is the moment a bleeding suspected thief is filmed tied to a tree with a rope by an angry mob before police officers untie and arrest him.

The incident occurred in the Tlalpan area of the Mexican capital Mexico City and was recorded by an onlooker.

Local media report the suspected thief, who has not been named and is in his thirties, had been caught by residents in the area trying to steal a car.

The angry mob are then said to have beaten the man before tying him to a tree as they waited for the police to arrive.

In the video, the suspected thief can be seen with blood on his face as he tied to the tree. He struggles to move as a woman in the background can be heard saying: “We have caught this thief on Allende Street.”

She says the man was “trying to open a friend’s car” and tells him “the police are about to come, do you understand?”

The man is unable to move and can be seen murmuring.

The police then arrive and can be seen freeing the man from the tree. The rope remains caught tightly around his neck and the officers eventually release it before taking him into the back of their patrol car in front of a crowd of onlookers.

Local media report the man was arrested and taken to a local police station where an investigation into the incident was launched.

It is unclear if the suspect has been charged and no other arrests have been reported.

Netizens ‘Daniel Bogs Ramirez’ commented: “Report him because otherwise they will let him go because nobody reported the case.”

And ‘Paez Naomi’ remembered her own experience, writing: “I filed a report and their answer was that was not okay because we did not catch him red handed, so if you do it, it’s better not to let him go.”

Picture Credit: CEN