'Are you Muslim?': Indian man stabbed 15 times in US after being asked about religion
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Are you Muslim?': Indian man stabbed 15 times in US after being asked about religion")
Photograph: (gofundme.com)
An Indian origin Muslim man remains in critical condition after a targeted stabbing at a Utah shopping mall, where police say the attacker admitted targeting him because of his faith.
An Indian origin Muslim man was stabbed 15 times inside a shopping mall in Utah on Monday after being questioned about his religion, according to police. The victim suffered multiple serious injuries across his body, causing heavy blood loss. Investigators said the 48 year old suspect targeted him because he was Muslim.
The attack took place at Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, where the victim, identified by friends as Sohail, was working at a kiosk. Police described the incident as a targeted attack and said the suspect posed a serious threat to public safety.
The accused, 48 year old Peter Michael Larsen, was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, according to jail records.
Victim attacked after revealing his religion
The suspect said "he had targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion (Muslim)," according to the police booking affidavit.
Before the attack, the suspect approached Sohail, asked his name, questioned him about his religion and requested a bottle of water, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing Imam Shuaib Din, who heads the Utah Islamic Center and has been in touch with the victim's family.
Trending Stories
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
Luna Nunez, Sohail's colleague and friend who later visited him in hospital, recalled what the victim told her.
"He said (Larsen) asked, 'Where are you from?', and he told him, 'I'm from India, my name's Sohail,'" Nunez told ABC4. "Larsen said, 'Are you Muslim?' and Sohail said yes, and he just began stabbing him."
Sohail was rushed to hospital in critical condition. As he continues to recover from the near fatal attack, Nunez has started a GoFundMe campaign to help support him and his family.
"I know he doesn't have insurance. He's the only man that is working in his family. He has two babies and a wife, and they are not working right now," Nunez told KSL.
Larsen remains in custody on suspicion of attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct. Court records also show that in 2022, police responded after he set fire to his yard and threatened to shoot responding firefighters. He was later sentenced to prison and released in January 2025.
