An Iraqi man accused of stabbing a female stranger in the neck aboard a Melbourne tram was called a “f***ing dog” as he appeared in court on Wednesday.
Jahangir Sharifabadi, 37, appeared before Melbourne Magistrates’ Court wearing the same worn clothes he had on when police arrested him on Tuesday afternoon.
He is accused of carrying out an unprovoked knife attack on a 51-year-old woman aboard a city tram near Kings Way in South Melbourne at about midday.
The woman was reportedly carrying a chihuahua when she was allegedly attacked.
A bystander filmed Sharifabadi’s arrest and later shared the footage on social media.
With the assistance of a Persian interpreter, Sharifabadi did not speak during the brief hearing. The court heard he had already been on bail when the alleged attack occurred.
The dishevelled homeless man rocked back and forth throughout the proceedings.
Jahangir Sharifabadi during his dramatic arrest. He was dressed in the same clothes when he appeared in court on Wednesday
His court-appointed lawyer told the court that Sharifabadi suffered from schizophrenia and requested that a custody nurse examine him.
She also asked for him to be transferred as soon as possible to Melbourne Assessment Prison, where he could receive more appropriate medical care.
Sharifabadi did not apply for bail. He is due to appear in court again later this month by video link.
As the accused was being taken away, an unidentified man who had joined the video hearing shouted an insult, calling Sharifabadi a “f***ing dog”.
Magistrate Darcy Dempsey ignored the abusive interruption and moved on to the next matter, an alleged murder case.
The online outburst came a day after crime reporter Ryan Naumenko was abused in court by anonymous trolls who hijacked the video link for his hearing.
Sharifabadi, who has no fixed address, is accused of randomly attacking the woman before leaving the tram.
He faces charges including reckless conduct endangering serious injury, intentionally causing injury, stalking, assault with a weapon, committing an indictable offence while on bail and possessing a controlled weapon.
CHECK THIS OUT: I found $135,000 sack of money next to an ATM – I didn’t get to keep it but I did get a bizarre offer instead – NewsFinale
Police converged on the scene in South Melbourne on Tuesday afternoon
Horrified witnesses watched the alleged attack unfold from nearby offices around lunchtime.
Celeste Hall told the Herald Sun that the alleged attacker surrendered after police drew their weapons and pointed them at him.
“The policeman raised his gun at him and he [the accused] put his hands up,” she said.
‘It was very scary, an innocent person. It was chaos. It was quite a busy tram. There were a bunch of uni students who got off as well.’
Fellow witness Liz Oxenbury saw the alleged victim and her dog being helped from the tram as police closed in.
‘They took her into the ambulance and she had a little chihuahua with her,’ she said.
‘She looked distraught. It was pretty traumatic. There were so many police and detectives coming and going.’
A Yarra Trams spokeswoman said it was initially believed a fork was used to attack the passenger.
Jahangir Sharifabadi is taken into custody after the alleged attack
The scene of the alleged attack in South Melbourne
The victim was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries to her upper body.
The incident is the latest alleged stabbing across Melbourne in recent weeks.
Langwarrin father Colin Sheean was allegedly stabbed as he tried to stop a break-in last month.
A teenage girl, 18, was allegedly also set upon in a vicious stabbing brawl at Deer Park in September.
And a mother taking her children to hospital in the city was also allegedly stabbed with scissors outside police headquarters in August.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: Heartbreaking Nigerian Scam Leads to Disabled Woman Capturing Disturbing Photos