The man accused of stabbing a Muslim man in a Utah mall earlier this week was charged with two counts of attempted aggravated murder, Utah’s District Attorney Sim Gill said on Friday afternoon.
In addition to the two charges, 48-year-old Peter Michael Larsen of Taylorsville, Utah, was also charged with one count of conduct with a dangerous weapon. Gill said his office had submitted a notification that the crime should be considered a hate crime if Larsen is convicted.
Larsen told police he intended to “make an exhibition of Muslims” and be a “catalyst so people would rid the country of Muslims,” according to the charging document.
With this intention, he allegedly approached Syed Sohail Uddin, a 37-year-old man from India, who was working at a kiosk in the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, just southwest of Salt Lake City.
After asking Uddin whether he was Muslim, Larsen shouted, “Everything is like Jesus Christ,” and proceeded to stab him 15 times, according to court documents.
Family members reported to police that Larsen had “racist views” on Mexican and African people, according to the documents.
At least twice previously, Larsen had been convicted of a violent felony, although he told police he has never tried to kill anyone before. Gill called him a “habitual offender” and emphasized that Larsen presents “a substantial danger to any other individual or community.” Gill also requested that Larsen be held without bail.
Uddin remains hospitalized in critical condition and has undergone numerous surgeries.
Police arrived at the Valley Fair Mall the afternoon of Monday, July 13, to an unfolding altercation with Uddin lying on the floor in blood.
Witness testimony in the charging document says Larsen first approached Uddin, asking him for a water bottle and proceeded to ask Uddin where he was from and if he was a Muslim. Uddin “was just sitting there, not doing anything, never acting angry or aggressive toward the bald man,” the documents say.
During the incident, several bystanders attempted to intervene, and began throwing items at Larsen to stop the attack, according to the charging document.
A video of the incident shows several bystanders trying to pull Larsen away from Uddin and then restraining Larsen.
One witness described hearing Uddin calling for God and for his mother. Another witness told police that Larsen pointed a knife at him and said “you’re next,” according to the charging document.
Gill called these strangers “civilian heroes.”
“If not for their intervention, it could have been a very different scenario,” he said.
Larsen had prepared to go to the mall the night before to make “an exhibition of Muslims” and be a “catalyst so people would rid the country of Muslims,” Larsen allegedly told the police. He bought a knife that had finger holes on it and had the design of the American flag on it.
He chose the specific location at the mall, because he knew that several Muslims worked there and he had briefly interacted with Uddin in the past, court documents said. Larsen rode a scooter to the mall and watched a movie in the mall’s theatre, waiting for the shops to open. He told police that his plan was to “decapitate” Uddin as a “sign that the country would not be overruled by Muslims,” charging documents say.
Larsen also described more grotesque acts of violence he had intended to inflict upon Uddin, saying that he wanted to kill “as many” Muslims “as possible,” according to court documents.
Larsen told the police, according to Gill, that he believed that Muslims didn’t blend in well and they “will take everybody over.”
Gill read Larsen’s direct quote: “ I just did an attempted murder. I’ve never done anything like that before, but I think the country’s worth it and there needs to be something done.”
Uddin suffered over a dozen wounds, the document said, including a wound to his scalp and numerous wounds on the front and back of his chest, as well as a fractured scapula.
In a social media message on Thursday evening, Uddin’s friend Adnan Mohammed thanked the public for their support while sitting next to Uddin. He shared that Uddin had undergone hand surgery, in which doctors repaired six tendons and two veins. He faces six months of recovery and extended physical therapy, he said. “The doctors are closely monitoring his heart,” he said.
Then, Mohammed turned the camera to Uddin, bandaged with oxygen tubes on his face. “Thanks to each and every person who has helped me in this critical condition, in this situation,” said Uddin, tilting his head backwards and periodically closing his eyes. “My colleagues, my boss, everyone. My wife who has helped me in this condition. Thanks to all.”
Earlier on Friday afternoon, Gill attended the prayers at the Utah Islamic Center, where Uddin worships, and spoke to the Muslim community about the stabbing. “There are people ... who do not like who we are ... the faith that we have...,” he said. “This kind of hate crime is a virus in our community. That virus impacted our community this week.”
Luna Nunez, who works at the jewelry store near the kiosk where Uddin worked, started a GoFundMe campaign to support Uddin’s family and his medical recovery.
“Sohail does not have health insurance, and the medical bills for his emergency care, surgeries, and ongoing physical therapy are overwhelming,” the campaign said.
By Friday morning, the campaign raised over $333,000.
Gill ended the press conference on a personal note. He said he got a call from a parent from the mosque who expressed fear for the safety of his child.
" I think it’s just important to know that we are a diverse people," Gill said at the press conference. “Our community is a product of our rich cultures and traditions and, and that is what really serves as our ethos for that community and our community at large, and the stranger is welcomed here.”
Other Muslim leaders also condemned the attack. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, released a statement Tuesday.
“This horrific attack is yet another reminder that anti-Muslim rhetoric has real-world consequences,” CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said. “When Muslims are routinely demonized, portrayed as threats, or treated as less deserving of equal rights and dignity, some twisted individuals inevitably act on that hatred. Our nation’s political and community leaders have a moral responsibility to reject anti-Muslim hate in all its forms before more innocent people are harmed.
“We pray for the victim’s complete and speedy recovery and call on all Americans to stand together against anti-Muslim bigotry and every form of hatred.”
Correction: The previous version of the story incorrectly stated the faith affiliation of Sim Gill.