A young mother was pepper sprayed in the face and attacked during an attempted carjacking while her toddler was in the backseat.
The unsuspecting woman was sitting in her Range Rover in a car park near Playford Plaza in Munno Para, north Adelaide, about 3.30pm on Monday when a man approached the car.
She had just dropped off her oldest child at tutoring classes across the street.
Dressed in a gray T-shirt, black shorts, sunglasses and hat, the man was armed with capsicum spray and a screwdriver.
CCTV footage showed the man approaching the driver’s side window before spraying the woman and trying to attack her with the screwdriver.
He then opened the door and tried to pull the woman out of the car.
His plan was thwarted after a good Samaritan heard the mother’s screams and rushed to her aid.
He chased away the attempted car thief, who fled.
A manhunt is underway for a man who attacked a young mother during a suspected carjacking in an Adelaide car park while her daughter was in the backseat (pictured)
The man pepper-sprayed the mother and attacked her with a screwdriver before a Good Samaritan scared him off
The woman’s eyes are burned by the pepper spray and she is shaken by the ordeal.
The Good Samaritan was also overcome by the pepper spray fumes when he tried to help the woman.
The young child, strapped into the backseat, was unharmed.
Shoppers nearby also heard the mother’s screams and reported it Nine news they had seen the man in the area before.
The police have started an investigation into the incident.
No arrests have been made yet.
Anyone with information is urged to come forward.