A man has been injured in a stabbing outside a Melbourne shopping centre in what police say was a random incident.

Emergency services were called to Homer St at Moonee Ponds, near Moonee Ponds Central, in Melbourne’s northwest about 4.35pm on Monday following reports of an altercation.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Man stabbed in terrifying shopping centre attack.

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Police were told two men had been arguing when one of them produced a knife and stabbed the other.

The victim, a 44-year-old from Essendon, suffered minor stab wounds to his neck and chest and was taken to Royal Melbourne Hospital for treatment where he remains in a stable condition.

“[He’s] lucky,” a Victoria Police spokesperson said during a press conference on Monday night.

“It could have been worse than what really occurred.”

The alleged offender, a 55-year-old man from Fitzroy known to police, was restrained by passersby — including the victim — before being taken into custody at the scene and is currently assisting police with their inquiries. Police said during the press conference that he will be charged, and that he had had “significant” mental health issues.

In videos obtained by 7NEWS, the man can be heard repeatedly yelling “Allahu Akbar”.

Liam Clifford witnessed the incident and said the man “just wouldn’t stop”.

“When I saw the guy get pinned down by the other people, he just started yelling Allahu Akbar over and over again, he just wouldn’t stop, I think that was the response to getting tackled,” Clifford said.

“It was scary. You don’t normally see this stuff happen in Moonee Ponds. It was pretty confronting.”