An incredibly disturbing scene happened Saturday night in Stanislaus County when a man beat a toddler to death with unimaginable cruelty. According to the San Jose Mercury News, eyewitnesses tried to stop the 27-year-old Turlock man but they couldn’t. A police officer came and shot the attacker, killing him.

Those who saw the scene were shocked when they saw how a man was hitting the child with such ferocity, slamming him into the asphalt. The attacker was in parking lot and the scene happened behind his car, a four-door Toyota pickup.

Dan Robinson, chief of the Crows Landing Volunteer Fire Department, was returning home when he stopped there, saying that “In the shadows and light it looked like he had hit an animal.” When the attacker backed up, Robinson realized that there was a little child, reported the San Jose Mercury News.

He immediately got out of the car and went to see what had happened. Robinson said that the man told him the boy had “demons” in him and then pulled out a pen from the fireman’s pocket, saying it was a knife.

Authorities said that a couple called 911 when they saw the man pulling the child out of the car seat and throwing him to the ground while kicking and stomping him. Some other people tried to stop him but he attacker pushed them away.

It appears that deputies know the boy but they can’t be sure because the violent beating makes it almost impossible for his face to be recognized.

A Stanislaus County sheriff's helicopter, which was in the area, arrived at the scene and those in it could see how the man was beating the toddler. An officer told the man to stop but he wouldn’t listen, so he shot him. The attacker was pronounced dead at the scene.

The little child was taken to the Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, but was also pronounced dead.

The whole scene happened on Father’s Day. Police officers and eyewitnesses were shocked. Authorities were investigating, in order to find out more about this horrible event.