A man has been accused of threatening his three-year-old child with a gun during a dramatic police pursuit in Adelaide that ended when he was shot by officers in the heart of the city's nightclub strip.
The 26-year-old has had surgery and remains under police guard in hospital to face court on Wednesday.
The chase began on Monday night when the man allegedly kidnapped a 23-year-old woman and their daughters, aged seven months and three years, in Cumberland Park and drove off.
His car was later spotted and tracked by helicopter to the CBD where it roared down the pedestrian shopping strip Rundle Mall and through a police blockade, shocking nearby onlookers.
He was finally stopped on Hindley St about 11.30pm, when the car was spiked and surrounded by police before they opened fire because of the threat to the child.
Television footage showed officers pulling the distressed woman from the car, then grabbing the baby and the girl and rushing them to safety.
Armed officers swarmed the car, with one scrambling over the hood, to secure the gunman.
The man had surgery for wounds to an arm and a leg and he was charged with aggravated kidnapping, unlawful threats and acts to endanger life.
"It will be alleged that he threatened the three-year-old girl with a firearm and that's when a decision was made for a police officer to fire," Assistant Commissioner Paul Dickson told reporters.
The shooting shook witnesses inside a Hindley St convenience store.
"It is something which I can never get it out from my head," 20-year-old Anand Sambasivan said of the moment the man was shot.
Mr Sambasivan, who was visiting a friend who worked at the minimart, said he heard the car crash outside the store.
"It was like, 'boom'. Everyone was shell-shocked - there was a lot of noise," he said.
A bedside court hearing was scheduled on Tuesday afternoon but the magistrate said the accused was in no condition to take part.
"I have also been told he will undergo more (medical) procedures tomorrow," magistrate Brett Dixon said.
The hearing has been rescheduled for Wednesday.
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