A murdered taxi driver may have been the victim of a random late-night attack as he walked back to his Melbourne home.

The 31-year-old man, who relatives identified as Mohamud Hussein, finished his shift on Wednesday night and was walking to his Fitzroy home when he was reportedly stabbed around 11.30pm.

Paramedics and police officers from the nearby Fitzroy Police Station tried to save the cab driver, also known as Mohamud Muktar, but he died at the scene.

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“It may be just a spontaneous attack,” Detective Inspector Mick Hughes told reporters on Thursday.

“They’ve seen this gentleman get out of his taxi at the end of his shift and may have been working on the assumption he was carrying large amounts of cash.

“The unfortunate part is most taxi drivers nowadays don’t.”

Two witnesses saw a tall, slim young man running through a nearby park after the victim was “brutally assaulted”.

He was wearing dark clothing and carrying a satchel.

Det Insp Hughes said there was no suggestion the man was involved “but he was certainly in the location at the time of the murder” and police want to speak to him.

Mr Hussein’s wallet and mobile phone were found next to his body. It’s not known if anything was stolen.

He was walking to the flat he shared with his parents when he was killed.

Fellow taxi driver and friend Abdul Botan says the victim “was a very nice man who never had a problem with anybody”.

“It’s a very sad time for the whole (Somali) community, we are just shocked,” he told reporters.

Victorian Taxi Association chief executive David Samuel expressed sympathy for the victim’s family and friends.

“Our thoughts too are with drivers who service the travelling public, especially late at night, as they come to terms with this news,” he said in statement.

The 31-year-old suffered serious upper-body injuries but police won’t confirm if he was stabbed until after the post-mortem.

Detectives have examined the taxi and will analyse CCTV footage from the area.

Street outside Fitzroy Town Hall off limits as cops probe death of man found injured. @abcnewsMelb @BreakfastNews pic.twitter.com/Vosxwzj8R0

— James Hancock (@jameshancockABC) April 20, 2016

They’re hoping someone in the busy Fitzroy bar and restaurant area saw something.

Premier Daniel Andrews said taxi drivers often end up in harm’s way – and it shouldn’t be like that.

“It should be a timely reminder, being a cab driver is not a highly paid profession, and it’s a very difficult and challenging profession,” Mr Andrews told reporters.