Victoria’s coroner will examine the fatal police shooting of a man who launched a frenzied attack on a woman, who is now fighting for life.

The woman was attacked by a man in his 30s at the John Coutts Reserve in Gladstone Park about 3.30pm on Thursday.

The man was shot dead by junior officers at the scene and the woman was is in Royal Melbourne Hospital in a critical condition.

State coroner Judge John Cain went to the site of the fatal shooting and will investigate the incident, it was confirmed on Friday.

The police patrol arrived at the parkland on Katrina Drive following reports of a man assaulting a woman and witnessed the horrific attack, Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said.

The officers tried to stop the man but had to make one of the worst possible decisions they could confront in their careers, he told reporters.

Police weren’t able to identify the woman because of the extent of her injuries.

It is believed the man and the woman were known to each other and they might be family members, Mr Cornelius said.

The man does not have a criminal record but is known to police, who had recent contact with him.

Police appealed to witnesses of what’s believed to have been a stabbing attack.

Homicide squad detectives will investigate, with oversight from Professional Services Command because a police firearm was discharged.

-AAP