Muslim worker stabbed more than 15 times in US

According to local media reports, a Muslim worker was stabbed more than 15 times in a religiously motivated attack at a shopping mall in the US state of Utah. Citing police documents, the report said that the attacker admitted to police that he wanted to kill the Muslim worker “because of his religion.”
Local media outlet The Salt Lake Tribune reported that a 48-year-old man approached a Muslim worker named Sohail, who was working at a kiosk at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, on Monday. He first spoke briefly with Sohail and asked about his name and religion. Then, when Sohail turned to get a bottle of water, the accused suddenly attacked him with a knife. Imam Shuaib Din of the Utah Islamic Center, who is in contact with the victim’s family, confirmed this information.
According to local television channel KTUV, the accused’s name is Peter Larsen. Police arrested him after the incident. Court documents say that before police arrived at the scene, several bystanders tackled the attacker to the ground and wrested the knife from his hand.
Sohail was hospitalized with serious injuries. According to a fundraising page set up by his family, he will need surgery on his hand, heart and lungs. The attacker was also taken to the hospital. He was later booked into the Salt Lake County Jail and ordered held without bail.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, condemned the attack. Nihad Awad, the organization’s executive director, said that anti-Muslim rhetoric is inciting horrific violence in real life. He called on political and social leaders to desist from anti-Islamic rhetoric.
According to the organization, 8,683 complaints of anti-Muslim behavior were recorded in the United States in 2025, the highest since such data began to be kept in 1996. The Utah Muslim Civic League also called the incident a “hate crime” and praised the bravery of ordinary citizens who came forward to apprehend the attacker.

Source: Anadolu Agency