A man has been charged after allegedly stealing a vehicle with a child inside parked at the front of an Auckland supermarket. 

Senior Sergeant Dave Plunkett said an SUV had been parked outside the supermarket on Williamson Ave, Ponsonby, around 6.15pm yesterday. 

“The driver had gone inside the supermarket, with his son waiting in the car,” he said. 

“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.” 

The boy was physically unharmed. 

Woolworths Ponsonby is the only supermarket on the street. 

The vehicle was then driven off at speed, Plunkett said. 

“Units responded into the area, and the Eagle helicopter located the vehicle abandoned on Commercial Rd in Arch Hill a short time later.” 

Around the same time, police received calls about a man jumping fences in the same suburb. 

After identifying a person of interest, a police camera operator spotted the man walking on Karangahape Rd on CCTV. 

“Units responded to apprehend this man, and he was arrested,” Plunkett said. 

A concealed knife and an imitation firearm were found on his person. 

“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.” 

A 31-year-old man will appear in the Auckland District Court today. 

He has been charged with unlawfully carrying an imitation firearm, possessing an offensive weapon, unlawfully taking a motor vehicle and resisting police, Plunkett said.