Man sentenced to 15yrs after Knoxville mosque stabbing

A Knoxville (a city in Tennessee, United States) man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison without the possibility of parole after pleading guilty to attempted firstdegree murder for stabbing a man in the heart during an argument inside a local mosque, prosecutors said.

Daniel Jay Porter, 34, pleaded guilty-as-charged before Knox County Criminal Court Judge Steve Sword on Thursday.

Porter was taken into custody shortly after the April 8 attack at the Majjid Annoor, 100 13th Street, in Fort Sanders.

In a Facebook post the next day, the Muslim Community of Knoxville was quick to clarify the incident was not a hate crime, but instead stemmed from an argument between Porter and the victim, 41-year-old Shadab A. Siddiqi.

During the argument, Porter grabbed a steak knife, stabbing Siddiqi once in the chest and puncturing his aorta, according to a news release from Knox County District Attorney General Charme Allen’s office.

Siddiqi, a local real estate broker and former News Sentinel guest columnist, underwent emergency open-heart surgery at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, saving his life. He has since suffered several strokes, however, which has affected his ability to speak, the release states.

“This dangerous offender admitted he intended to stab the victim,” Allen states in the release. “The only reason Mr. Siddiqi is still here is because of the fast work of first responders and the surgical team who saved his life.”