A young boy was left terrified after the SUV he was waiting in outside an Auckland supermarket was allegedly stolen by a man armed with a knife on Wednesday evening.
Police said the incident happened shortly after 6.15 pm outside the Woolworths supermarket on Williamson Avenue in Ponsonby.
Senior Sergeant Dave Plunkett said the vehicle had been parked outside while the driver went into the store, leaving his son inside the SUV, as reported by Stuff.
“The driver had gone inside the supermarket, with his son waiting in the car,” Plunkett said, as quoted by Stuff.
He said an unknown man approached the vehicle and began yelling at the child.
“An unknown male has approached the vehicle, yelling at the young boy to get out of the car, before he proceeded to get in and drive away,” Stuff has quoted.
A shopper inside the supermarket told Stuff he saw the child running through the produce section “screaming quite hysterically” before finding his father and telling him the car had been stolen.
The witness said the boy, believed to be younger than 10, appeared extremely distressed while his father used the child’s cellphone to contact police. Officers quickly responded, assisted by the Eagle helicopter.
The shopper said the father was visibly shaken and “obviously more concerned for his well-being than the car”.
“The whole supermarket was concerned for the state of the kid. I haven't seen too many kids in that level of distress, tears, quite hysterical, very difficult to get any words out,” as quoted by Stuff.
“He was just screaming.”
Police confirmed the child was not physically injured.
Plunkett said the SUV was later found abandoned on Commercial Road in Arch Hill after being driven away at speed. Police then received reports of a man jumping fences in the area.
“Enquiries on the ground provided Police with information on a person of interest, and our search continued,” Plunkett said, Stuff has quoted.
Authorities later tracked down the suspect on Karangahape Road using police cameras. Officers arrested the man, who allegedly had a concealed knife and an imitation firearm.
“I would like to acknowledge all our staff’s exceptional response to this incident last night, which would have been incredibly startling for the young boy,” Plunkett said, Stuff has quoted.
A 31-year-old man is due to appear in the Auckland District Court charged with unlawfully carrying an imitation firearm, possessing an offensive weapon, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and resisting police.
Reflecting on the incident, the witness told Stuff it was “sad in New Zealand that that type of thing happens“.
“I think many of us would have left a similar age kid in the car like that,” he said, Stuff has quoted.