A man has been arrested in Utah after allegedly stabbing a Muslim man multiple times inside a shopping mall and telling investigators he specifically targeted the victim because of his faith, according to court records released Tuesday.
The attack occurred Monday at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, Utah. Officers found the male victim suffering from what police described in an affidavit as “multiple stab wounds all over his body” with severe bleeding.
Before police arrived, bystanders at the scene stepped in and physically restrained the attacker, pinning him to the ground until officers could respond.
The suspect, identified as Peter Michael Larsen, 48, was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on charges of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, according to jail records. Court documents indicate Larsen told authorities he “intends to kill Muslims” and was described as posing “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions … ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events.”
According to the police booking affidavit, the suspect stated “he had targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion (Muslim).”
The Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing Imam Shuaib Din — who leads the Utah Islamic Center and had been in contact with the victim’s family — that the suspect first approached the Muslim man and asked for his name and religion before claiming he wanted a bottle of water. As the victim turned around to retrieve the water, the attacker began stabbing him, Din said.
The victim, who worked at a kiosk inside the mall, was transported to a hospital and remained in critical condition. A friend launched a GoFundMe fundraising page on his behalf, stating the man had been stabbed 15 times and required multiple surgeries.
Larsen was also taken to a hospital for injuries he sustained when bystanders subdued him, before being transferred to the Salt Lake County jail.
U.S. rights advocates have pointed to a steady increase in Islamophobia over the past two decades, tracing it back to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and citing more recent factors including anti-immigration policies, white supremacy movements, and tensions stemming from Israel’s war in Gaza.
Recent deadly incidents include a 2023 stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim child in Illinois — the attacker was sentenced to 53 years in prison and later died in custody — and a 2026 shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five people dead, including two teenage suspects.
