A woman shopping with her daughter was targeted by four masked carjackers, one of whom was wielding an axe, police have said.
The attackers drove off in the stolen BMW at Morrisons supermarket in Castle Bromwich, Solihull, at around 7:10am on Friday morning.
The man carrying the weapon first approached the victim and demanded her keys before snatching them from her hand and pushing the 35-year-old mother to the floor.
Three men then got into her car and drove away, hitting a curb near the front of the shop before speeding out the car park.
A fourth man fled in the car the group had arrived in, which is believed to be a silver estate model.
The woman’s 12-year-old daughter witnessed what happened as she returned with the supermarket trolley.
After they arrived at the scene, police officers spoke to the victims who were shaken but had no visible injuries.
DC Kerrie Galloway, from West Midlands Police Force CID, said “This was a terrifying, intimidating attack by four men who could clearly see that the victim and her young daughter were alone.”
She added: “"Not only did the victim's daughter witness their car being stolen but she also had to see her mother being pushed to the floor with one of the offenders having an axe.”
The police are trying to trace the vehicles and have released an image of the woman’s car.
They have described the robbers as having dark skin, local accents and wearing black clothing and snood-style face coverings.
DC Galloway concluded:"I urge the members of the public who witnessed this incident and bravely came to the aid of the victims to contact us. Any further information in relation to the car that the offenders arrived in, their identity and any sighting of the victim's stolen car would be greatly appreciated along with any dash-cam or recordings of the incident."
