Homeless man accused of stabbing woman on tram was on bail.

There is a particular unease that settles over a city when the randomness of violence becomes personal—when the ordinary act of boarding a tram at midday, with a small dog in tow, becomes the setting for something no one could have predicted. On Tuesday, in South Melbourne, that unease arrived in the form of a knife, and by Wednesday, it had found its way into a courtroom.

Jahangir Sharifabadi, 37, appeared in Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, a day after he was arrested and charged over the stabbing of a 51-year-old woman on a route 1 tram. The attack occurred about midday on Eastern Road, as the tram travelled through South Melbourne. The woman was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. She had been carrying a small chihuahua at the time .

Sharifabadi, who is homeless and of no fixed address, was on bail at the time of the alleged attack. His lawyer told the court he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and requested that he be transferred to the Melbourne Assessment Prison where he could access treatment .

He faces several charges, including reckless conduct endangering serious injury, intentionally causing injury, stalking, possessing and assaulting with a weapon, and committing an offence while on bail. He is also charged with breaching a bail condition by allegedly coming within 200 metres of the Melbourne CBD .

Witnesses described a scene of chaos. One told the Herald Sun that the alleged attacker surrendered after police drew their weapons. "The policeman raised his gun up at him and he put his hands up," Celeste Hall said. "It was very scary, an innocent person. It was chaos" .

As Sharifabadi was led out of the courtroom, a member of the public watching via video link unmuted themselves and yelled a profanity and the word "dog." The magistrate ignored the interjection and moved on to the next case .

Sharifabadi did not apply for bail and will return to court on October 20. The investigation continues, and for the woman who boarded a tram on an ordinary Tuesday, the memory of what happened will linger long after the physical wounds have healed.

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Sources: 7NEWS, The Nightly, Daily Mail Australia, News24 Australia