Indian-origin Muslim stabbed 15 times after being asked ‘are you Muslim?’ in Utah mall
“I know he doesn’t have insurance. He’s the only man that is working in his family. He has two babies and a wife, and they are not working right now,” Syed’s friend Luna Nunez told KSL, a media and broadcasting company based in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Nunez, who set up the GoFundMe page, detailed the sequence of events in an interaction with local television network affiliate ABC Salt Lake City.
The alleged attacker, Larsen, who has a history of violence, reportedly went around the mall asking people their religion. Then he asked Syed where he was from.
Upon hearing that he was from India, he further probed, asking if Syed was “Muslim”.
“Sohail said yes, and he just began stabbing him,” Nunez said.
Another account of the violent encounter mentioned that the suspect asked the Muslim mall worker for his name, religion and then indicated he wanted a bottle of water. As Syed turned to fetch the bottle of water, the attacker began stabbing him, the Salt Lake Tribune reported, citing comments from Imam Shuaib Din, who leads the Utah Islamic Centre and had been in contact with the victim’s family.
According to court documents, prosecutors argued Larsen should remain in custody because he posed “a substantial danger to the public” owing to his violent ideology and references to planned mass-casualty events.
This isn’t the 48-year-old alleged attacker’s first brush with violence. In 2022, Larsen had set his yard on fire, threatened to shoot at responding firefighters, and was released from jail only in January last year, according to reporting by Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate.
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Shots were reportedly fired in that incident but an armed Larsen remained unharmed.
Bystanders subdued suspect
As Monday’s attack unfolded, bystanders swung into action, throwing nearby objects at the attacker before overpowering him till officials arrived at the scene.
“I was throwing anything I could, shoes, a chair, anything. [Larsen] was stabbing him so vicious. I was scared for his life. I was just scared. I thought he was going to die,” Syed’s friend Nunez was quoted as saying by local media house Fox 13 Salt Lake City.
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Syed’s manager, Adnan Mohammed, called the incident a ‘hate crime’ and said “there’s no space for hate” while talking to the same news outlet.
Mohammed said Syed was promoted as manager “to operate everything” and described him as “always smiling, laughing, working very hard”.
Muslim rights groups, such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned the “hate-motivated stabbing”.
The largest Muslim civil rights organisation in the US said the “horrific attack is yet another reminder that anti-Muslim rhetoric has real-world consequences”. It also called on America’s “political and community leaders to reject anti-Muslim hate in all its forms before more innocent people are harmed”.
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The crime would have ramifications beyond Syed. “When you kill a human, you’re not just killing one guy,” said Mohammed, “you’re killing a whole family.”
Larsen remains in custody as prosecutors pursue attempted murder and other charges.
