Utah man charged with attempted murder in anti-Muslim stabbing
Police say Peter Michael Larsen told investigators he stabbed mall kiosk worker because man was Muslim, and intends to kill Muslims
SALT LAKE CITY (MNTV) — A man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a Muslim worker roughly 15 times at a Utah shopping mall, in an attack police say was chosen for the victim’s religion.
The stabbing happened Monday inside Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, where the victim was working at a kiosk. A police affidavit says he suffered multiple stab wounds across his body and was found bleeding heavily before paramedics arrived. Bystanders intervened and held the attacker until officers reached the scene.
Peter Michael Larsen, 48, was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on allegations of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct. According to court documents, Larsen told investigators he targeted the victim intending to kill him because the man was Muslim, and said he intends to kill Muslims.
Police said he would pose a substantial danger to the public if released, citing his conduct, his ideology, and alleged plans involving mass casualty events. The allegations have not been tested in court and Larsen has not entered a plea.
Imam Shuaib Din of the Utah Islamic Center, who has been in touch with the victim’s family, said the attacker approached the man, asked his name, questioned him about his religion, and asked for a bottle of water before attacking him. The victim was hospitalized in critical condition and has required multiple surgeries; a friend set up a fundraiser for his medical costs.
Larsen was treated for injuries sustained when bystanders restrained him before being jailed.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations and other Muslim organizations condemned the attack. It arrives in a documented pattern: a six-year-old Muslim child stabbed to death in Illinois in 2023, and this year’s mosque shooting in San Diego that killed multiple people.
Anti-Muslim hostility has been a constant since 2001, sustained by extremist rhetoric, white supremacist organizing, and anti-immigrant politics — and it does not stay rhetorical. A man asked another man his religion and then tried to kill him for the answer.
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