By Eduardo Cuevas, Jeff Winter, CNN
A Sikh truck driver was stabbed more than a dozen times in an unprovoked attack by a man at a Wyoming rest stop, according to local officials, raising an alarm among Asian American advocates who are warning about inflammatory rhetoric against South Asian truckers.
Officials have not yet determined the suspect’s motive, and it’s unclear whether the incident is being investigated as a hate crime. The victim’s lawyer has called for a thorough investigation into “any potential hate-crime or civil-rights dimension of this attack.”
Early Sunday morning, the truck driver, identified by his attorney only as Singh, had stopped at a rest area along I-80 in Sweetwater County when he was followed into the bathroom by a man later identified as Andrew Bzdak, according to the sheriff’s office. Inside the men’s room, Bzdak allegedly attacked Singh from behind, stabbing him 17 times with a knife, including twice in the neck and twice in the chest, according to an arrest warrant.
After the attack, Singh ran out of the bathroom and was later seen on video lying on the ground in the parking lot, according to CNN affiliate KOVR. Records show Singh had called emergency services and said he’d been stabbed multiple times. Responding officers saw “large amounts of blood” inside the men’s room, the bathroom lobby, outside the building and by a parked semi-truck, the records show.
Singh was airlifted to the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, according to the warrant for Bzdak’s arrest. He continues to recover from his injuries, according to a Friday update from Jasjit Singh, director of legal services at the Jakara Movement, a California-based advocacy organization serving Punjabi Sikhs and representing the truck driver.
The neighboring Carbon County Sheriff’s Office later detained Bzdak after he allegedly fled the scene in his own truck, according to court records. A family who had heard Singh’s screams inside the rest stop bathroom followed Bzdak eastbound on I-80 and called police to report the incident, officials said.
Bzdak, 44, is charged with one count of attempting to commit first-degree murder, according to court records. CNN has reached out to the state public defender’s office, which is representing Bzdak, and the Sweetwater County Attorney’s Office for comment.
Jasjit Singh said there has yet to be a public determination that the “extraordinarily violent attack” was bias-motivated because of the victim’s identity as a Punjabi Sikh. Bzdak is White, the county attorney’s office said.
“Now you have this additional fear that, as a South Asian or Punjabi Sikh truck driver, you have to deal with these fears that you may be attacked for how you look,” Jasjit Singh told KOVR.
Some advocates have cited recent social media posts by the Department of Homeland Security, including one with an AI-generated graphic of a South Asian man and a tagline saying “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr. Singh” as fueling such attacks. DHS later deleted the post.
In a statement to CNN about Sunday’s stabbing, a DHS spokesperson said any attempts to blame the agency “for an unrelated attack is RECKLESS and FALSE. We will not speculate on motives.”
The North American Punjabi Trucking Association, an advocacy nonprofit, called DHS’ post “disgraceful, disrespectful, and deeply troubling.” The association acknowledged concerns raised by DHS around fraud with commercial driver’s licenses, unqualified drivers and English language proficiency.
However, in a social media post, the association said, “Using the name ‘Mr. Singh,’ portraying a South Asian man as someone who ‘doesn’t know how to drive,’ and pairing that imagery with ‘America for Americans’ sends a message far beyond enforcement. It risks turning a legitimate safety issue into a stereotype aimed at Punjabi, Sikh, South Asian, and immigrant truck drivers.”
About one in five US truck drivers are Sikh, according to the North American Punjabi Trucking Association, though there are no official estimates, The Associated Press reported.
On Thursday, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), who is Indian American, said the stabbing of Singh came amid “rising hatred targeting Sikh and South Asian Americans,” including from the DHS. “Those who turn it into violence must be held accountable,” Krishnamoorthi said in a social media post. “And all of us need to stand together against both. America must be better than this.”
Bzdak is being held on a $1 million bond in the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
He has a criminal history in California dating back to 2004, including convictions of assault with a deadly weapon, drunk driving and vandalism, California court records show.
Bzdak has a preliminary hearing set for September 24 in circuit court.
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