Victim slashed with knife outside closed police station

A woman has been slashed by a man with a knife after seeking help at a Melbourne police station but finding it closed.

Reservoir police station is open from 11am to 7pm on weekdays and is closed on weekends.

Forty-three police stations, including Reservoir, slashed their reception hours across Victoria starting in 2023 due to staffing shortages, in a move the force described at the time as temporary.

A 32-year-old woman and 22-year-old woman were in their stationary car at the intersection of Mahoneys and Edgars roads in Reservoir about 2.40am on Saturday when a man approached the front passenger door and began to damage the vehicle.

The pair drove to the car park of the Reservoir police station where the 32-year-old got out of the car but found the station was closed and unstaffed.

The man – who had followed them – then approached the driver and produced a knife. He demanded her keys and when she refused, he “caused a superficial cut to her upper arm before fleeing the scene in his vehicle”, a police spokesperson said.

The two women drove to a nearby shopping centre car park where they called emergency services.

Police are investigating the attack as an assault and attempted aggravated carjacking.

“The 32-year-old driver was treated at the scene for her minor injury. Her passenger, a 22-year-old woman, was not injured,” the spokesperson said.

“It appears the offender is known to the victim, and the investigation remains ongoing.”

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