A Muslim kiosk worker was stabbed more than 15 times inside a Utah shopping mall on Monday by a man who later told police he intended to kill him because of his religion, according to local media reports citing a probable cause statement.
The attacker, identified as Peter Larsen, approached the 48-year-old victim, Sohail, at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City. According to reports citing Imam Shuaib Din, who leads the Utah Islamic Center in West Jordan, the attacker struck up a brief conversation and asked about the worker's religion before attacking him as he turned to retrieve a bottle of water.
Local broadcaster KUTV reported that Larsen was taken into custody Monday after police responded to the mall. Court documents cited by the Salt Lake Tribune indicated that several bystanders tackled the attacker, pinned him down, and wrestled the knife from his hand before police arrived.
Both the victim and the suspect were hospitalized. The suspect was hospitalized after being punched by bystanders during the struggle. According to a GoFundMe campaign established for the worker, he requires surgeries on his heart, lungs, and hands. Larsen was booked into Salt Lake County jail and ordered held without bail.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the stabbing and urged public officials to reject anti-Muslim rhetoric. CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad stated that the attack serves as a reminder that anti-Muslim rhetoric has real-world consequences. CAIR also reported documenting 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025, the highest number since the organization began tracking such cases in 1996.
The Utah Muslim Civic League also condemned the attack as a hate crime and praised the bystanders who intervened.
