SALT LAKE CITY — The man accused of stabbing a West Valley City employee over his religion has been indicted on a federal hate crime charge.
Peter Larsen was officially indicted by a grand jury Wednesday for willfully causing bodily injury because of his actual or perceived religion.
Larsen was arrested on July 13, in the moments after he allegedly stabbed kiosk worker Syed Sohail Uddin multiple times at the Valley Fair Mall. Following his arrest, Larsen claimed he had targeted Uddin because he was Muslim.
Mall employee shares thanks for support after stabbing attack:
Documents showed that Larsen had purchased the knife used in the stabbings at the mall and had asked other employees if they were Muslim.
"...we will not tolerate violence motivated by religious hatred,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “
If Larsen is convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. He is scheduled to make his first court appearance on the indictment on Thursday.
