<p>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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><h3>Victim attacked after revealing his religion</h3><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The suspect said "he had targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion (Muslim)," according to the police booking affidavit.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Luna Nunez, Sohail's colleague and friend who later visited him in hospital, recalled what the victim told her.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"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."</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>"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.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>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.</p>

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. 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.

<p>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.</p>

'Are you Muslim?': Indian man stabbed 15 times in US after being asked about religion

<p><strong>By: Mallika Singh</strong></p>

<p>The United States'&nbsp;Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday released its annual Hate Crime Statistics Report for the year 2018, which shows a slight decrease in the number of reported incidents from the previous year.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The statistics that are a compilation of data collected from 16,039 law enforcement agencies, reported 7,120 hate crimes to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program last year, just 55 fewer than 2017’s 7,175 reported incidents.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While the number of crimes motivated by bias or prejudice went down, there was an increase in the number of attacks targeting people instead of property, accounting for 61 per cent of the total reported incidents.&nbsp;</p>

<p>African-Americans constituted the largest category of targeted victims of hate crimes motivated by race, even when the share of anti-black incidents in all hate crimes fell to an all-time low.&nbsp;</p>

<p>There was a 21 per cent increase in hate crimes targeting Latino or Hispanic communities, constituting 13 per cent of the offences motivated by race and a total of 485 reported cases. &nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Watch: Hate crimes in the US - is Donald Trump responsible?</strong></p>

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<p>This increase comes amidst a national priority shift from terrorism to immigration, which is also reflected in the consecutive second-year decline in Anti Muslim and Arab American offences. &nbsp;</p>

<p>While Anti Jews crimes comprised the largest share of offences motivated by religion with 835 reported instances, there was a three-fold increase in Anti-Sikh crimes with 60 reported cases, which makes the community the third-largest victim of crimes motivated by religion. &nbsp;</p>

<p>In crimes motivated by sexual orientation, anti-gay bias against males saw an increase of nearly 7 per cent from 2017, with anti-transgender crimes increasing by 34 per cent.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The FBI defines hate crimes as “a committed criminal offence which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>Experts fear that there might come an increase in attacks ahead of heated 2020 presidential elections in the country, along with an increase in attacks on people rather than vandalism of property.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While the number of hate crimes in 2018 might have fallen by 0.77 per cent from the previous year, it is important to note that the data was collected from 110 fewer agencies than in 2017.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(With inputs from Reuters)</p>


By: Mallika Singh The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday released its annual Hate Crime Statistics Report for the year 2018, which shows a slight decrease in the number of reported incidents from the previous year.

By: Mallika Singh The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday released its annual Hate Crime Statistics Report for the year 2018, which shows a slight decrease in the number of reported incidents from the previous year. The statistics that are a compilation of data collected from 16,039 law enforcement agencies, reported 7,120 hate crimes to the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program last year, just 55 fewer than 2017’s 7,175 reported incidents. While the number of crimes motivated by bias or prejudice went down, there was an increase in the number of attacks targeting people instead of property, accounting for 61 per cent of the total reported incidents. African-Americans constituted the largest category of targeted victims of hate crimes motivated by race, even when the share of anti-black incidents in all hate crimes fell to an all-time low. There was a 21 per cent increase in hate crimes targeting Latino or Hispanic communities, constituting 13 per cent of the offences motivated by race and a total of 485 reported cases. Watch: Hate crimes in the US - is Donald Trump responsible? × This increase comes amidst a national priority shift from terrorism to immigration, which is also reflected in the consecutive second-year decline in Anti Muslim and Arab American offences. While Anti Jews crimes comprised the largest share of offences motivated by religion with 835 reported instances, there was a three-fold increase in Anti-Sikh crimes with 60 reported cases, which makes the community the third-largest victim of crimes motivated by religion. In crimes motivated by sexual orientation, anti-gay bias against males saw an increase of nearly 7 per cent from 2017, with anti-transgender crimes increasing by 34 per cent. The FBI defines hate crimes as “a committed criminal offence which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender’s bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.” Experts fear that there might come an increase in attacks ahead of heated 2020 presidential elections in the country, along with an increase in attacks on people rather than vandalism of property. While the number of hate crimes in 2018 might have fallen by 0.77 per cent from the previous year, it is important to note that the data was collected from 110 fewer agencies than in 2017. (With inputs from Reuters)

US hate crime report: Sikh third-largest targeted community; 21% rise in Anti-Latino violence

<p>A 25-year-old Sikh cab driver in the US was assaulted and his turban knocked off by drunk passengers, an incident the police was investigating as a possible hate crime.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">25-year-old <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Sikh?src=hash">#Sikh</a> cab driver assaulted, turban snatched by passengers in US.</p>
&mdash; Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) <a href="https://twitter.com/PTI_News/status/854324840261701632">April 18, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>The incident took place early Sunday morning and has left Harkirat Singh, an immigrant from Punjab who moved to the US three years ago, scared.</p>

<p>&quot;I&#39;m so afraid. I don&#39;t want to work,&quot; Mr Singh told the New York Daily News. &quot;It&#39;s an insult on my religion, also. An insult of my faith. It&#39;s horrible.&quot;</p>

<p>The report said the New York Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted in his support, saying &quot;Harkirat Singh - You are welcome here. What happened to you was wrong. You did the right thing by calling the NYPD.&quot;</p>

<p>Last week, Sikhs in the US launched a million-dollar awareness campaign aiming to inform Americans about the Sikh faith amid continuous incidents of hate crime against the community.</p>

<p>Mr Singh said he picked up three men and a woman -- all in their 20s -- around 5 am Sunday from Madison Square Garden.</p>

<p>When they reached their destination in the Bronx, they began complaining that Mr Singh had taken them to the wrong address.</p>

<p>The passengers were allegedly drunk and could not give Mr Singh a straight answer about where they wanted to go, leaving him &quot;confused&quot;.</p>

<p>The passengers then began hurling slurs and banging on the plastic partition in his cab, Mr Singh recalled.</p>

<p>&quot;They&#39;re using bad words, also,&quot; he said recalling that those used expletives and called him &quot;Ali Baba&quot;.</p>

<p>Mr Singh told the group to pay USD 41.76 and find another cab. While the women gave him the cash after Singh called 911, one of the men got back into the cab and tried to smash the meter. Then he punched Singh in the arm, he said.</p>

<p>&quot;After that, he picked off my turban from my head,&quot; he said. &quot;He wanted to snatch my phone also...It was too horrible.&quot;</p>

<p>As the men became violent, Mr Singh got terrified and began to cry, saying he pleaded with the man to calm down.</p>

<p>&quot;Why are you doing this, brother? We can sit. We can talk,&quot; he recalled telling the unruly passenger.</p>

<p>&quot;At that time, I&#39;m so afraid - they can do anything to me. They&#39;re gonna kill me.&quot;</p>

<p>With the police on its way, the group ran away from the scene with Singh&#39;s turban, a primary symbol of the faith. The incident occurred just hours after thousands of Sikhs had gathered at Times Square for the &#39;Turban day&#39; event organised by a Sikh group to spread awareness about the faith.</p>

<p>The report said police sources described the suspect as a clean-shaven white Hispanic man in his 20s, around 5-foot-9.</p>

<p>Police say they are only seeking one suspect, though they&#39;d like to speak to the other three passengers. Singh did not require a medical attention but filed a report with police. He was able to snap a photo of two of the passengers.</p>

<p>Harpreet Singh Toor, the chairman of public policy and external affairs at The Sikh Cultural Society, said the theft reflected prejudice against Sikhs, who often targeted in anti-Muslim bias despite following a different faith.</p>

<p>&quot;I used to get mad - now I laugh at it, because if we are still ignorant about other faiths...who will make those people understand?&quot; he said.</p>

<p>In the years since the 9/11 terror attacks, Sikhs remain more likely to be targeted in cases of profiling, bigotry and backlash than the average American.</p>

<p>In a latest incident of hate crime, a Sikh man was shot near Seattle last month after the gunman allegedly told him to &quot;go back to your own country.&quot;</p>

<p>(PTI)</p>


'I'm so afraid. I don't want to work,' 25-year-old Harkirat Singh told the New York Daily News

A 25-year-old Sikh cab driver in the US was assaulted and his turban knocked off by drunk passengers, an incident the police was investigating as a possible hate crime. 25-year-old #Sikh cab driver assaulted, turban snatched by passengers in US. — Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 18, 2017 × The incident took place early Sunday morning and has left Harkirat Singh, an immigrant from Punjab who moved to the US three years ago, scared. "I'm so afraid. I don't want to work," Mr Singh told the New York Daily News. "It's an insult on my religion, also. An insult of my faith. It's horrible." The report said the New York Police Department is investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted in his support, saying "Harkirat Singh - You are welcome here. What happened to you was wrong. You did the right thing by calling the NYPD." Last week, Sikhs in the US launched a million-dollar awareness campaign aiming to inform Americans about the Sikh faith amid continuous incidents of hate crime against the community. Mr Singh said he picked up three men and a woman -- all in their 20s -- around 5 am Sunday from Madison Square Garden. When they reached their destination in the Bronx, they began complaining that Mr Singh had taken them to the wrong address. The passengers were allegedly drunk and could not give Mr Singh a straight answer about where they wanted to go, leaving him "confused". The passengers then began hurling slurs and banging on the plastic partition in his cab, Mr Singh recalled. "They're using bad words, also," he said recalling that those used expletives and called him "Ali Baba". Mr Singh told the group to pay USD 41.76 and find another cab. While the women gave him the cash after Singh called 911, one of the men got back into the cab and tried to smash the meter. Then he punched Singh in the arm, he said. "After that, he picked off my turban from my head," he said. "He wanted to snatch my phone also...It was too horrible." As the men became violent, Mr Singh got terrified and began to cry, saying he pleaded with the man to calm down. "Why are you doing this, brother? We can sit. We can talk," he recalled telling the unruly passenger. "At that time, I'm so afraid - they can do anything to me. They're gonna kill me." With the police on its way, the group ran away from the scene with Singh's turban, a primary symbol of the faith. The incident occurred just hours after thousands of Sikhs had gathered at Times Square for the 'Turban day' event organised by a Sikh group to spread awareness about the faith. The report said police sources described the suspect as a clean-shaven white Hispanic man in his 20s, around 5-foot-9. Police say they are only seeking one suspect, though they'd like to speak to the other three passengers. Singh did not require a medical attention but filed a report with police. He was able to snap a photo of two of the passengers. Harpreet Singh Toor, the chairman of public policy and external affairs at The Sikh Cultural Society, said the theft reflected prejudice against Sikhs, who often targeted in anti-Muslim bias despite following a different faith. "I used to get mad - now I laugh at it, because if we are still ignorant about other faiths...who will make those people understand?" he said. In the years since the 9/11 terror attacks, Sikhs remain more likely to be targeted in cases of profiling, bigotry and backlash than the average American. In a latest incident of hate crime, a Sikh man was shot near Seattle last month after the gunman allegedly told him to "go back to your own country." (PTI)

Sikh cab driver assaulted, turban knocked off by drunk passengers in US

<p>Following recent incidents of race-related attacks on the Indian community in US, Indian ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna reached out to the State Department to convey his &quot;deep concerns&quot; to US government.</p>

<p>The US has, in turn, assured India of &ldquo;speedy justice&rdquo; to victims of the recent incidents.</p>

<p>&quot;State Department, on behalf of US Govt, expressed condolences and assured they are working with all agencies concerned to ensure speedy justice,&quot; the Indian Embassy in the US said in a series of tweets.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Amb <a href="https://twitter.com/NavtejSarna">@NavtejSarna</a> convyd r deep concerns to US Gov on recent tragic incidents involving Hardish Patel &amp; Deep Rai1/4 <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia">@MEAIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj">@SushmaSwaraj</a></p>
&mdash; India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianEmbassyUS/status/838444662725697537">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Amb <a href="https://twitter.com/NavtejSarna">@NavtejSarna</a> underlined need to prevent such incidents and protect Indian community 2/4 <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia">@MEAIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj">@SushmaSwaraj</a></p>
&mdash; India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianEmbassyUS/status/838444946201915393">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">State Department, on behalf of US Govt, expressed condolences and assured they are working 3/4 <a href="https://twitter.com/NavtejSarna">@NavtejSarna</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia">@MEAIndia</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SushmaSwaraj">@SushmaSwaraj</a></p>
&mdash; India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) <a href="https://twitter.com/IndianEmbassyUS/status/838446857021980673">March 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>A 39-year-old Sikh man, Deep Rai was shot in Kent, in the state of Washington while he was working in his vehicle outside his residence at around 8:00 pm PST on Friday when he was approached by an unknown man, The Seattle Times reported.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Authorities are investigating the shooting as a suspected hate crime, the newspaper reported.</p>

<p>Rai was shot in the arm and alleged the suspect made statements to the effect of &quot;go back to your own country&quot;.</p>

<p>Harnish Patel, 43, the owner of a convenience store in Lancaster County, South Carolina, was found dead of gunshot wounds in the front yard of his home on Thursday.</p>

<p>In the case of Patel, the County Sheriff has pointed out that this may not be a hate crime. &quot;We will remain in touch with them,&quot; an Indian Embassy source said.</p>

<p>The incidents come close on the heels of shooting in Kansas last month in which 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed when 51-year-old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani, yelling &quot;get out of my country&quot;.</p>

<p>(WION with inputs from PTI)</p>


There has been a recent slew of race-related crime in the US, raising concerns about the safety of the Indian American community

Following recent incidents of race-related attacks on the Indian community in US, Indian ambassador to the US Navtej Sarna reached out to the State Department to convey his "deep concerns" to US government. The US has, in turn, assured India of “speedy justice” to victims of the recent incidents. "State Department, on behalf of US Govt, expressed condolences and assured they are working with all agencies concerned to ensure speedy justice," the Indian Embassy in the US said in a series of tweets. Amb @NavtejSarna convyd r deep concerns to US Gov on recent tragic incidents involving Hardish Patel & Deep Rai1/4 @MEAIndia @SushmaSwaraj — India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) March 5, 2017 × Amb @NavtejSarna underlined need to prevent such incidents and protect Indian community 2/4 @MEAIndia @SushmaSwaraj — India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) March 5, 2017 × State Department, on behalf of US Govt, expressed condolences and assured they are working 3/4 @NavtejSarna @MEAIndia @SushmaSwaraj — India in USA (@IndianEmbassyUS) March 5, 2017 × A 39-year-old Sikh man, Deep Rai was shot in Kent, in the state of Washington while he was working in his vehicle outside his residence at around 8:00 pm PST on Friday when he was approached by an unknown man, The Seattle Times reported. Authorities are investigating the shooting as a suspected hate crime, the newspaper reported. Rai was shot in the arm and alleged the suspect made statements to the effect of "go back to your own country". Harnish Patel, 43, the owner of a convenience store in Lancaster County, South Carolina, was found dead of gunshot wounds in the front yard of his home on Thursday. In the case of Patel, the County Sheriff has pointed out that this may not be a hate crime. "We will remain in touch with them," an Indian Embassy source said. The incidents come close on the heels of shooting in Kansas last month in which 32-year-old Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed when 51-year-old US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at him and his friend Alok Madasani, yelling "get out of my country". (WION with inputs from PTI)

India raises 'deep concerns' over hate crimes, US assures 'speedy justice'

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'Are you Muslim?': Indian man stabbed 15 times in US after being asked about religion

US hate crime report: Sikh third-largest targeted community; 21% rise in Anti-Latino violence

Sikh cab driver assaulted, turban knocked off by drunk passengers in US

India raises 'deep concerns' over hate crimes, US assures 'speedy justice'