Muslim Man in Utah Stabbed. The Suspect Said He 'Intends to Kill Muslims'
The horrific attack has barely been covered by the media, and most U.S. politicians remain silent.
The suspect apparently didn’t mince his words. He targeted his victim because he “intends to kill Muslims,” police said he told them.
Peter Michael Larsen allegedly stabbed a Muslim kiosk worker at the Valley Fair Mall in West Valley City, Utah, on Monday – two days ago.
The victim, identified only as “Sohail” on an apparent GoFundMe page set up to help with medical expenses, survived, but according to the page, he is in “critical condition, facing multiple surgeries for his hands, heart, and lungs” after being stabbed more than 15 times. In an affidavit, police said the victim suffered “multiple stab wounds all over his body and was bleeding profusely.”
The Salt Lake Times reported that the attacker had approached the victim and asked him his name and about his religion, and said he wanted a bottle of water before stabbing him.
Bystanders were reportedly able to get the knife away from Larsen and pin him to the ground before police arrived. According to reports, authorities described Larsen as “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions” due to his “ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events.”
Muslim groups condemned the attack, with the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) saying: “This horrific attack is yet another reminder that anti-Muslim rhetoric has real-world consequences. When Muslims are routinely demonized, portrayed as threats, or treated as less deserving of equal rights and dignity, some twisted individuals evidently act on that hatred.”
The fact is, the stabbing of a Muslim man because he is Muslim has been barely covered in our media. It’s the clearest example of an alleged hate crime, and yet, most U.S. politicians remain silent.
Monday’s attack comes nearly two months after two teenage suspects opened fire in San Diego’s biggest mosque, killing three people. And almost three years since 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea Al Fayoume was stabbed to death after Oct. 7 because he was Muslim. Islamophobia has been on the rise for years, yet little has been done to acknowledge it in mainstream discourse, much less address it.
Instead, Republicans continue to demonize and dehumanize Muslims – without consequences. Those who unfortunately suffer the consequences are people like Sohail, who was simply trying to do his job at a mall in Utah.
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