Utah man arrested in stabbing of Muslim mall worker

A Utah man accused of stabbing a Muslim kiosk worker inside a shopping mall told investigators he targeted the victim because of his religion and “intends to kill Muslims,” police said in court records released Tuesday.

The attack happened Monday at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City. Officers responding to the scene found the victim with “multiple stab wounds all over his body” and “bleeding profusely,” according to a police booking affidavit. Authorities said bystanders pinned the suspect to the ground and restrained him until officers arrived.

The suspect, identified in jail records as Peter Michael Larsen, 48, was booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for investigation of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct. Police said in the affidavit that Larsen admitted he had “targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion [Muslim].”

Investigators said the attack appeared to be motivated by religious hatred. The affidavit said Larsen posed “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions… ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events.”

The victim, a Muslim man who worked at a mall kiosk, was hospitalized in critical condition. A GoFundMe page organized by a friend said he was stabbed 15 times and needed surgeries.

The Salt Lake Tribune, citing Imam Shuaib Din of the Utah Islamic Center, reported that Larsen approached the victim, asked for his name, asked about his religion and indicated that he wanted a bottle of water. Din, who had been in contact with the victim’s family, said the attacker began stabbing the victim as he turned to get the water.

Larsen was also hospitalized for injuries sustained while bystanders subdued him, authorities said, before he was booked into the county jail.

Muslim rights and advocacy groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, condemned the attack. Civil rights advocates have warned for years about rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States, pointing to discrimination and violence after the September 11, 2001, attacks and, more recently, anti-immigration rhetoric, white supremacy and tensions surrounding Israel’s war in Gaza.

Recent deadly attacks cited by rights advocates include the 2023 stabbing of a six-year-old Muslim child in Illinois. The child’s killer was sentenced to 53 years in prison and later died in custody, The Guardian reported. The outlets also cited a 2026 shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five people dead, including two teenage suspects.