By Rajwa Quasim
A 28-year-old Punjabi Sikh truck driver was stabbed 17 times at a Wyoming rest area early Sunday, raising concerns about the safety of Sikh and South Asian communities across the U.S.
The driver, who lives in Sacramento, California, was traveling to Pennsylvania when he stopped at the Bitter Creek Rest Area in southern Wyoming. He said he noticed a man following him into a bathroom before the man attacked him.
The driver, who asked to be identified only by his last name, Singh, said he was punched before the attacker pulled out a knife and stabbed him multiple times. He suffered injuries to several parts of his body, including his neck and chest. Singh managed to fight back and escape the bathroom but collapsed outside.
A Hispanic family at the rest area came to his aid and helped him get medical assistance.
Authorities arrested 45-year-old Andrew Kris Bzdak in connection with the attack. He has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. The motive remains unclear, and authorities have not indicated that the attack was hate-motivated.
READ: Krishnamoorthi condemns stabbing of Sikh truck driver (September 17, 2026)
The incident received wider attention because it occurred days after a controversial social media post by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The post showed an image of an Indian man alongside the words, “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr. Singh.”
DHS later removed the post following criticism and said the image depicted Harjinder Singh, whom the agency described as an “Indian immigrant and truck driver accused of making an illegal U-turn which caused a fatal crash in Florida.”
The federal agency said it would not speculate about the Wyoming attack and rejected attempts to connect the two incidents, describing such claims as “reckless and false.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the attack and criticized the Trump administration and DHS over the post depicting a caricature of a Sikh driver. On X, he wrote, “Those spreading this hate, including officials in our own federal government, need to stop. Those who turn it into violence must be held accountable. And all of us need to stand together against both. 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.”
Although DHS denied a connection between the two incidents, Jasjit Singh, an attorney and director of legal services at the Jakara Movement, said the broader climate should be considered.
READ: Indian truck driver in deadly Florida crash signs extradition papers (August 20, 2025)
“The Sheriff’s Office has said there is no known motive at this time, but we cannot separate this incident from the climate in which it happened,” Singh said. “When our own federal government uses a Sikh name and image to tell people like us that they do not belong on America’s roads, our community has every reason to be concerned about the environment that kind of rhetoric creates.”
Concerns about anti-South Asian hate have also grown in the U.S. According to a September 2026 report from Stop AAPI Hate, anti-South Asian slurs in monitored online spaces increased by 109% between January 2023 and December 2025. The report also found that 48% of South Asian adults said they experienced a hate act because of their race, ethnicity or nationality in 2025.
Singh, who asked to be identified only by his last name because of concerns for his safety, said he is now facing physical and financial challenges as he deals with medical expenses and time away from work.