Victim critically injured after mall stabbing, family says
A Utah man was arrested Monday after police said he stabbed a Muslim kiosk worker multiple times inside a West Valley City mall and told investigators he targeted the victim because of his religion.
Peter Michael Larsen, 48, told police he “intends to kill Muslims” and that he constituted “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions … ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events,” according to a booking affidavit cited by the Guardian.
The stabbing occurred at the Valley Fair Mall. The victim, a Muslim man working at a kiosk, suffered multiple stab wounds and was bleeding profusely, police said. Bystanders pinned Larsen to the ground before officers arrived.
According to Imam Shuaib Din, who leads the Utah Islamic Center and had been in contact with the victim’s family, Larsen approached the victim, asked for his name, inquired about his religion, and requested a bottle of water. When the victim turned to get the water, Larsen began stabbing him, Din said, as reported by the Salt Lake Tribune.
The victim was hospitalized in critical condition. A friend set up a GoFundMe page stating the man was stabbed 15 times and required surgeries. Larsen was also hospitalized for wounds sustained while being subdued by bystanders before being booked into the Salt Lake County jail on charges of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemned the attack. Rights advocates have noted rising Islamophobia over the past two decades following the September 11, 2001, attacks and more recently due to anti-immigration policies, white supremacy and fallout from the war in Gaza, according to the Guardian.
Previous deadly attacks include the 2023 stabbing of a six-year-old Muslim child in Illinois, whose killer was sentenced to 53 years and died in custody, and the 2026 shooting at a San Diego mosque that left five dead, including two teenage suspects.