A father who was caught on camera allegedly punching his three-year-old boy son in the face at a supermarket has launched a bizarre rant online, insisting the incident is a 'misunderstanding'. Justin Whittington, 23, was arrested on Friday in Bakersfield, California, and charged with child cruelty after the video of the alleged abuse surfaced online. But following interviews, his charge was changed from 'cruelty' to 'endangerment', and his bail dropped from $1 million to $20,000. On Sunday he posted a message on Facebook asking for his pregnant wife and son to be 'left out of this' and was adamant there was more to 'that' video than meets the eye. WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT . Scroll down for video . Pictured: This is Justin Whittington, the man charged with punching a three-year-old boy in the face. Following his release from custody he has written a Facebook post claiming the incident is a 'misunderstanding' The punch: Surveillance video shows a man chasing a toddler then hitting him in the face. Whittington claims his pregnant wife was chasing his son around the store beforehand . He describes how his wife, who is eight-months pregnant, was chasing the boy around the store. In response to a supportive message from a relative, Whittington wrote: 'I've never looked to a god or Jesus for anything but if he is out there I could only pray he looks out and over the ones who are willing to give my family and myself a second chance. He added: 'I was put here to suffer. My son and wife need to be left out of this. If God is real aunt ronda tell him to give my seat to my son. 'Thanks to all these people my son will forever be immortalized by social media. I guess some people do live forever. 'But i will always be sorry for the whole thing weather it be known or not.' On Saturday, Whittington posted bail with a court date set for April 24. The relationship between the toddler and Whittington has not yet been officially confirmed by police but the owner of Vest Market Harry Dindral said the man was the boy's father and said that he's seen them in the store together before. The video posted to social media and shared thousands of times shows a boy running through Vest Market. The police were notified of the video after it was leaked online. They asked the public for help identifying the man in the video who ruthlessly punched the small child. 'That was horrible, man,' owner of Vest Market Harry Dindral told the Daily News. Horrifying: Video shows the injured boy crying on the floor, then the man who may his father, yanking him up off the ground by his shirt . 'The worst thing I've ever seen,' he said of the incident at his establishment. Dindral says he was in the back of the store when his employee ran to him and told him to watch the surveillance video to see if there was any proof of the violent assault. Dindral later gave the footage to cops who were able to track down the suspect. 'It was the right thing to do,' Dindral told the Daily News. 'You don't hit a child like that.' Local Tattoo artist Chris Danaher who works near the market said he could never fathom acting violently towards a child. 'I would never imagine treating a child like that,' Danaher told ABC. 'His wife or girlfriend or whatever was clearly pregnant. She had no regard to it. She picked up her son and left the store,' he added. Danher said sadly the child is too young to truly understand what is going on. 'It's terrible. That kid is obviously too young to know what was going on. Honestly, couldn't be more than 3 years old, and I just couldn't imagine anyone doing that to me or me doing that to a child whatsoever,' said Danaher. The boy was later examined by medical personnel at his home and he did not require hospitalization. It is unknown whether or not he will be placed in new custody. A second video released on Friday shows Whittington allegedly picking up his son like a rag doll. The potential child abuse case is currently under investigation.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT . Justin Whittington, 23,  was taken into custody in California on Friday . Initially charged with child cruelty, it was dropped to 'endangerment' On Saturday, after his bail went from $1m to $20,000, he posted bond . Whittington was 'filmed hitting a toddler in the face so hard that he falls' He took to Facebook on Sunday asking for a 'second chance' Asked for his son and wife to be 'left out of this' as he is 'made to suffer'