A California man has been booked on suspicion of committing a hate crime after police said he angrily confronted worshipers leaving a Simi Valley mosque and stabbed one of them.

The unidentified victim was rushed to a nearby hospital after being cut in the abdomen. He was in stable condition and the injury was not considered life threatening, authorities said.

The victim was walking with his family after a service in a Simi Valley Islamic center late Saturday night when the attacker and another man confronted him in the parking lot of an adjacent shopping mall, officials said. An altercation began with shouts that turned into a scuffle before the worshiper was stabbed, police said.

“Some worshipers [were] walking along the shopping center parking lot when they are basically confronted by two guys,” Simi Valley Police Sgt. Adam Darough told the Simi Valley Acorn.

Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told the Los Angeles Times Sunday that he had spoken with several local Muslims and that they were “heartbroken.”

“It’s hard to believe that in this day and age we still have to deal with such hate and violence in our country, and especially in a place as diverse as southern California,” Ayloush said.

Police arrested John Henry Matteson, 29, of Simi Valley after the confrontation. Detectives were still looking for the second man, who fled on foot when police arrived.

Matteson has been charged with felony violation of civil rights, making criminal threats and disturbing the peace by fighting, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. He has a criminal history, including a conviction for making terroristic threats and disturbing the peace in 2015, according to records. He is being held in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail. His first court appearance is set for Wednesday.

Several witnesses at the scene told police the attacker appeared to target the victim because he was Muslim.

“We’re investigating whether or not this was instigated by [the victim’s] appearance and the association with the mosque,” Darough told the Los Angeles Times. “We’re quite concerned that this occurred. We want to keep people of all faiths safe in the city.”

Hate crimes have spiked since the harsh rhetoric leading up to the presidential election. Crimes against Muslims in particular have soared, and are the highest since 9/11, the FBI has reported.

Last week, a man confronted New York City police officer Aml Elsokary, a Muslim, on a Brooklyn street and threatened to cut her throat after accusing her of being a member of the so-called Islamic State. Christopher Nelson, 36, was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with menacing as a hate crime and aggravated harassment.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams has written a letter to President-elect Donald Trump requesting that he meet with representatives of the city’s Muslim police officers, including Elsokary, to discuss the spike in hate crimes.