Rockingham incident: Mother and baby recovering after alleged axe robbery in shopping centre car park

A mother and her baby are recovering after allegedly being confronted by a man with an axe in a shopping centre carpark – who is accused of stealing their car and then racing away from pursuing police. Police said the woman in her 30s had her baby close by when she was approached by a man wielding the weapon as she loaded shopping into her Holden Commodore just after 5pm on Friday at Rockingham Shopping Centre. Hours later, and around 20km away, police allege they spotted the car driving erratically on Thomas Road, with the driver failing to stop when directed to. A short but dramatic chase ended when two stinger devices were deployed, and the car was forced off the Kwinana Freeway near Bertram. A 53 year-old man was arrested and has been charged with aggravated armed robbery, no authority to drive, reckless driving to escape pursuit and failing to stop. A 50-year-old woman — who police say drove the man to the shopping centre and helped him steal the Commodore — has also been charged with aggravated armed robbery. Two police vehicles were damaged during the evade police incident. No officers were injured. The pair were due to appear before Northbridge Magistrates Court on Saturday.