A man has been arrested after an on-duty paramedic was allegedly stabbed in the face and neck while on a coffee break with his colleagues.
It's understood the specialist MICA paramedic was at a café in Reservoir in Melbourne's north when he was approached from behind and stabbed twice just after 11am on Thursday.
Police said the alleged offender got out of a small, red car and stabbed the paramedic before fleeing in the same vehicle.
The paramedic was treated by his colleagues at the café before he was taken to hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries.
A 32-year-old man was arrested at a property in Winter Crescent, Reservoir, just before 1pm and remains in custody.
He is expected to be charged over the next 24 hours.
Shadow Minister for Ambulance Services, Georgie Crozier, slammed the unprovoked attack as 'horrific', saying no frontline worker should ever face this kind of danger.
'This is a horrific attack and my thoughts are with the paramedic and their family,' she told reporters on Thursday.
The Reservoir shopping strip where the paramedic was attacked is pictured
Mandatory jail sentences exist in Victoria for people who attack frontline workers (stock)
'This level of violence shows how dangerous our streets have become and how crime is rampant in Victoria.
'No one, let alone a frontline health worker, should face this kind of violence.
'We need tougher penalties for anyone who attacks paramedics and other health care workers. They protect us; the law should protect them.'
Laws introduced in 2018 already mandate jail terms for attacks on paramedics, police, nurses, doctors, firefighters and other frontline responders.
Statutory minimum sentences for injuring emergency workers have also been in place since 2014.
However, many offenders are still escaping time behind bars by using mental health claims in court.
The latest attack has outraged Victorians, who say they are fed up with the state's out-of-control crime wave.
'No bail. Throw the book at them. Disgusting,' one person wrote online.
Statutory minimum sentences for injuring emergency workers have also been in place since 2014 (a paramedic motorcycle is seen outside a building in Melbourne)
'Let's get the bingo card out and cross off the following: Was already out on bail and known to police; Will get bail by the end of the business day, if they haven't already got it,' another agreed.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, has dashcam or CCTV footage, or has information about the attack should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.