A Utah man has been arrested for stabbing an Indian mall employee multiple times in broad daylight, telling investigators he targeted the victim because of his religion and “intended to kill Muslims,” according to court documents.Peter Michael Larson, 48, attacked the victim inside the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City on Monday after asking him about his faith, police said. Friends have identified the victim as Sohail, who is hospitalized in a critical condition.Police wrote in a booking affidavit that Larson poses a “substantial threat to the public” because of his “violent actions, ideologies and premeditated mass casualty incidents.”
details of stabbing
According to the Salt Lake Tribune, citing Imam Shuaib Deen of the Utah Islamic Center, Larson approached the victim at his kiosk, asked his name and religion, and requested a bottle of water. As the victim turned back to pick him up, Larson allegedly began stabbing him.A GoFundMe page created by a friend says the victim was stabbed 15 times and has undergone multiple surgeries. “I know he doesn’t have insurance. He’s the only working man in his family. He has two kids and a wife,” friend Luna Nunez told KSL.Larson was thrown to the ground and bystanders subdued him before officers arrived. According to the affidavit, the victim had multiple stab wounds to his body and was bleeding heavily.“I was throwing everything I could, shoes, a chair, anything. He was stabbing her really bad. I was scared for her life,” Nunez said.“Always smiling, laughing, working really hard,” the victim’s manager, Adnan Mohammed, told Fox 13. When you kill a human being, you are not just killing a man. You’re killing an entire family.”Mohammed paid tribute to those who intervened: “There are heroes who saved his life, who still exist. Humanity still exists.”
Suspect has a prior history of violence
Larson was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct. In 2022, police went to Larson’s home after he set fire to his yard and threatened to shoot responding firefighters. He was sentenced to prison and released in January 2025.
Peter Larsen’s mugshot
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and other Muslim advocacy groups condemned the attack. Imam Shuaib Din told the Tribune: “On the surface, it seems like it is against one person, but it is not that one person is suffering. The entire community is suffering because now they all feel unsafe.”Civil rights groups have warned of a rise in anti-Muslim hatred in the US since 9/11, as well as new concerns over anti-immigration rhetoric and white supremacist activity.