WASHINGTON — A man has been arrested in the US state of Utah for stabbing a Muslim man multiple times and stated that he targeted the victim because of the victim’s religion, police said in court records.
Police said the suspect told them 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”.
The incident took place inside the Valley Fair Mall in Utah’s West Valley City on Monday.
The male victim had “multiple stab wounds all over his body and was bleeding profusely”, police said in an affidavit.
Authorities said the suspect was pinned to the ground by bystanders before officers arrived on the scene.
The suspect, Peter Michael Larsen, 48, was booked into the Salt Lake County jail for a probe over attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct, jail records showed on Tuesday.
The victim was a male Muslim kiosk worker.
Victim in critical condition
The suspect said “he had targeted the victim with intent to kill him because of his religion (Muslim)”, according to the police booking affidavit.
