Daijiworld Media Network – Wyoming
Wyoming , Sep 18: A 28-year-old Punjabi Sikh truck driver from Sacramento was stabbed 17 times at a rest area in Wyoming, United States, leaving him hospitalised with injuries to his neck, chest, arms and ribs.
According to a report by NPR, the driver, who identified himself only by his surname, Singh, said the attack took place early Sunday morning at the Bitter Creek Rest Area along Interstate 80. He was travelling towards Pennsylvania when another man allegedly followed him into a bathroom and suddenly attacked him with a knife.
Singh managed to escape from the restroom but collapsed outside and called for help.
A Hispanic family at the rest stop heard his cries and rushed to assist him, attempting to attend to his wounds and provide medical aid. The family also provided police with information about the suspect’s truck.
Following the incident, the Wyoming Highway Patrol stopped the vehicle near Rawlins, approximately 113 kilometres from the rest area, and arrested the suspect, identified as Andrew Kris Bzdak.
Bzdak has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. Authorities have not yet established a motive for the attack.
Singh, who has been driving commercial trucks for around three years, remained in hospital as of Wednesday. He expressed concern over the safety of other Punjabi Sikh truck drivers travelling across the United States.
The attack occurred days after the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) faced criticism for posting an AI-generated graphic targeting a Sikh truck driver as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration and immigrant truck drivers.
The movie-style poster, titled “Transformers: Age of Deportations”, depicted a large Transformer bearing a DHS insignia facing a Sikh man wearing a head covering. It carried the message, “America for Americans. Get off our roads; you don't know how to drive, Mr Singh,” and urged people to “self-deport”.
The post triggered widespread criticism, with several people accusing the department of promoting racism against Indian immigrants and Sikh Americans. The DHS subsequently removed the graphic from its account the following day.
Indian-origin Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the stabbing, saying he was horrified by the attack and the growing hatred directed at Indian immigrants in the United States.
“I’m horrified by the brutal attack on a Sikh truck driver who was stabbed 17 times at a Wyoming rest stop,” he wrote on X, linking the incident to what he described as rising hatred targeting Sikh and South Asian Americans.
Krishnamoorthi also criticised the DHS graphic, describing it as a racist caricature of a Sikh truck driver.
He called on those spreading hatred, including federal government officials, to stop and urged that anyone who resorts to violence be held accountable.
“America must be better than this. I’m praying for Mr Singh’s full recovery and grateful to the family whose quick action helped save his life,” he added.
Sikh-American news anchor Alec Nolan of Fox 7 Austin also criticised the DHS post as “racist and demeaning” towards people with the surname Singh.
Nolan shared his family’s history in the United States, saying his great-grandfather Katha Singh had emigrated from India and worked as a raisin farmer in California. His grandfather, Dan Singh, later took over the family business and also worked as a truck driver.
Social media users also questioned the department’s decision to publish the graphic, urging it to focus on alleged commercial driving licence fraud rather than what they described as racist messaging.