Prosecutors in a Utah county announced Friday that a man accused of stabbing a Muslim man multiple times at a shopping mall has been charged with two counts of first-degree felony attempted aggravated murder.
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill identified the defendant as Peter Michael Larsen, saying the charges stem from a knife attack that took place Monday at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City.
Gill’s office released a statement noting that the charging document includes notices for a potential hate crime designation, the defendant being classified as a habitual violent offender, and the use of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person.
“An alleged unprovoked attack on anyone in our community is unacceptable, but an attack allegedly motivated because of the victim’s religion is alarming,” Gill said.
Police described the victim as having “multiple stab wounds all over his body and was bleeding profusely” at the time of the attack. A friend of the victim said he was stabbed 15 times and required multiple surgeries.
Earlier in the week, police reported that the defendant told investigators he “intends to kill Muslims,” that “he had targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion,” and that he posed “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions … ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events.”
A charging document filed Friday revealed additional statements attributed to Larsen. According to the document, he said he wanted “to be a catalyst so people would rid the country of Muslims.” He also reportedly stated that “if he could go from one Muslim to another in close proximity, he would have killed as many as possible.”
The document further noted that Larsen said he specifically chose that mall location because he was aware Muslims frequented it.
Authorities said bystanders tackled and held the suspect on the ground before law enforcement arrived. He was subsequently booked into the Salt Lake County jail.
Rights advocates in the United States have pointed to a rise in Islamophobia over recent decades, citing factors including the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks, anti-immigration policies, white supremacy movements, and tensions surrounding Israel’s war in Gaza.
The attack follows other deadly incidents in recent years, including a 2023 stabbing of a 6-year-old Muslim child in Illinois whose killer 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.
