A Muslim was stabbed earlier this week at a Utah shopping center for his religion.

Police arrested Peter Michael ​Larsen, 48, after he was treated at a hospital following the incident for wounds sustained from bystanders who had stepped in to restrain him until police arrived. They were holding him down when the police got there.

The victim, identified by friends as Syed Sohail Uddin, was working at a mall kiosk when Larsen approached him. According to Imam Shuaib Din, an Islamic cleric who has been in touch with Uddin’s family, Larsen asked the victim about his religion, then said he wanted to purchase a bottle of water. When the victim turned to get the item, Larsen started stabbing him.

By the time police arrived, he had been stabbed 15 times and was “bleeding profusely,” according to police.

West Valley City Police Department posted a statement on X about the incident.

“This afternoon, just before 3pm, a male suspect approached a male employee working at a kiosk at Valley Fair Mall,” the police department stated. “After a brief interaction, the suspect pulled out a knife and began stabbing him multiple times. A few bystanders interfered, and were able to separate the suspect from the victim and subdue the suspect until police arrived,” adding that the victim was undergoing surgery and the suspect had been arrested.

Larsen was charged with attempted murder and prohibited dangerous weapon conduct.

Police deemed the suspect, who told them that he “intends to kill Muslims,” a danger to the public, saying he posed “a substantial danger to the public if released based on his violent actions today, ideologies and pre-planned mass casualty events.”

Muslim advocacy groups such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) condemned the attack, as did Jewish advocates such as Hen Mazzig.