Utah charges man with hate crime in stabbing of Muslim worker
Prosecutors say Peter Michael Larsen asked Sohail whether he was Muslim, then stabbed him more than a dozen times, he faces attempted aggravated murder
SALT LAKE CITY (MNTV) — A Utah man has been charged with attempted aggravated murder and a hate crime enhancement in the stabbing of a Muslim mall worker, in an attack prosecutors say was driven by anti-Muslim hatred.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Peter Michael Larsen, 48, approached Sohail, a kiosk employee at Valley Fair Mall, asked whether he was Muslim, and stabbed him more than a dozen times after learning his faith.
Witnesses described a persistent, unprovoked assault, with Larsen ignoring commands to stop and drop the weapon — a knife fitted with a brass-knuckle handle — until bystanders pulled him off. Sohail was hospitalized in critical condition and faces a long recovery after surgery.
Investigators say Larsen admitted targeting Muslims and voiced intent to carry out further violence, telling them he wanted to create fear among Muslim Americans and had chosen the mall because he believed Muslims would be there.
He faces two counts of attempted aggravated murder with a hate crime enhancement and one count of prohibited weapon conduct tied to a prior felony; prosecutors are seeking to hold him without bail. The allegations have not been tested in court and Larsen has not entered a plea.
Gill praised the bystanders who intervened as heroes and said Utah’s diverse communities must keep standing against hatred.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Sohail thanked his coworkers, family, and supporters; his friend Adnan Mohammed said he remains in pain and faces a long physical and emotional recovery. Local businesses and friends have raised recovery funds.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, which welcomed the charges alongside the Utah Muslim Civic League, said it found social media activity under Larsen’s name carrying extreme anti-Muslim and far-right content.
CAIR recorded 8,683 anti-Muslim bias complaints in 2025 — its highest total since it began tracking cases in 1996 — and argued the attack shows what dehumanizing rhetoric produces when a community is targeted long enough: a man asking another his religion, and trying to kill him for the answer.
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