Paul Lambert, 38, was shot dead by police following a massive manhunt and pursuit that ended on the side of the Pacific Highway at Bonville on Thursday night.

He was hit with multiple bullets after a Taser failed to work and he lunged at officers with a knife, police said.

Mr Lambert, a banker from Kogarah in Sydney's south, had ambushed his former partner, Angela Jay, 28, a doctor.

He stabbed her multiple times as she arrived home in Port Macquarie earlier in the day.

She managed to stumble to a neighbour's house to raise the alarm.

Dr Jay had ended the relationship recently and had taken out an apprehended domestic violence order.

Police are investigating whether the pair had met on dating application Tinder.

After the break-up, Mr Lambert continued to call her hundreds of times, threatening to hurt himself if she did not take him back.

It is understood police had not been able to find Mr Lambert to serve him with the ADVO, with sources telling Fairfax Media he had been dodging authorities in the days leading up to the attack.

Police sources said it appeared Mr Lambert had been stalking Dr Jay for several days, before he entered her home on Thursday and waited for her to return from work.

As she walked through the front door, he attacked her with a knife, stabbing her at least six times and dousing her in petrol.

He fled as Ms Jay stumbled to a neighbour's house.

She remained in a serious condition in hospital on Friday.

Nearby resident Caleb Williams told Fairfax Media he knew "something big" had happened when he heard multiple sirens screaming past.

"They just kept coming one after another," he said.

Mr Williams described his shock, saying the vicious attack was unusual for the area.

"Our neighbourhood is pretty calm; it's nice and nothing like this has happened as far as I can remember."

Police chase

The massive manhunt began before officers saw the suspect driving a car outside Port Macquarie.

A high-speed pursuit was terminated before road spikes were used to puncture the tyres of the suspect's car on the Pacific Highway.

His car stopped just outside Bonville, and a 500-metre foot chase continued until he was confronted by officers.

It is understood one officer fired his Taser but it failed to work.

Both officers shot the man numerous times and he died at the scene.

A critical incident team, led by the Homicide Squad, will investigate whether the man lunged at two other officers with a knife.

"These are some of the jobs that we dread," Northern Region Command Assistant Commissioner Jeff Loy said.

"The police officers come to work each day to actually help the public and save people. However, it's a sad fact that we've got a very dangerous and difficult and challenging job at times, and that is why we train our police in self-defence tactics and the deployment of weapons so that they can keep safe and keep the community safe."

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Newcastle Herald, with Tracey Fairhurst/Port Macquarie News and Josh Dye