Sikh truck driver stabbed 17 times in unprovoked Wyoming attack raises fears of assaults against South Asians, officials say

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.

据当地官员称，一名锡克教卡车司机在怀俄明州的一个休息站遭到一名男子无端袭击，被刺十几刀。这起事件引起了亚裔美国人权益倡导者的警觉，他们警告说，针对南亚卡车司机的煽动性言论正在蔓延。

官方尚未确定嫌疑人的作案动机，目前尚不清楚该事件是否作为仇恨犯罪进行调查。受害者的律师呼吁对“此次袭击中任何潜在的仇恨犯罪或侵犯公民权利的因素”进行彻底调查。

周日清晨，据警长办公室称，卡车司机辛格（其律师仅透露其姓氏为辛格）在斯威特沃特县80号州际公路沿线的一个休息区停车后，被一名后来被确认为安德鲁·布兹达克的男子尾随进入洗手间。逮捕令显示，在男洗手间内，布兹达克从背后袭击了辛格，用刀刺了他17刀，其中两刀刺在颈部，两刀刺在胸部。

据CNN附属电视台KOVR报道，袭击发生后，辛格跑出洗手间，随后被监控录像拍到躺在停车场地上。记录显示，辛格曾拨打急救电话，称自己身中数刀。记录还显示，赶到现场的警员在男洗手间内、洗手间大厅、建筑物外以及一辆停放的半挂卡车旁发现了“大量血迹”。

根据逮捕令，辛格已被空运至卡斯珀的怀俄明医疗中心。加州一家为旁遮普锡克教徒服务的维权组织“雅卡拉运动”（Jakara Movement）的法律服务主任贾斯吉特·辛格（Jasjit Singh）周五发布最新消息称，辛格仍在康复中。该组织代表辛格处理此案。

据法庭记录显示，邻近的卡本县警长办公室随后拘留了布兹达克，据称他当时驾驶自己的卡车逃离了现场。官员称，一家人在休息站的洗手间里听到辛格的尖叫声后，沿着80号州际公路向东跟踪了布兹达克，并报警报告了这起事件。

据法庭记录显示，44岁的布兹达克被控一项一级谋杀未遂罪。CNN已联系布兹达克的代理律师——州公共辩护律师办公室以及斯威特沃特县检察官办公室，寻求置评。

贾斯吉特·辛格表示，目前尚未有公开结论认定这起“极其暴力的袭击”是出于对受害者旁遮普锡克教徒身份的偏见动机。县检察官办公室称，布兹达克是白人。

“现在你又多了这样一种恐惧，作为一名南亚裔或旁遮普锡克教卡车司机，你不得不面对这样的恐惧：你可能会因为你的外貌而受到攻击，”贾斯吉特·辛格告诉 KOVR。

一些维权人士指出，美国国土安全部近期在社交媒体上发布的一些帖子助长了此类袭击，其中包括一张人工​​智能生成的南亚裔男子画像，配文为“滚出我们的道路，你不会开车，辛格先生”。国土安全部随后删除了该帖子。

国土安全部发言人就周日发生的刺伤事件向CNN发表声明称，任何试图将“与此无关的袭击”归咎于该机构的行为都是“鲁莽且错误的。我们不会对动机进行猜测。”

北美旁遮普卡车运输协会（一家倡导型非营利组织）称国土安全部的帖子“可耻、不尊重人且令人深感不安”。该协会承认国土安全部提出的关于商业驾驶执照欺诈、不合格驾驶员和英语语言能力等方面的担忧。

然而，该协会在社交媒体上发帖称：“使用‘辛格先生’这个名字，将一位南亚裔男性描绘成‘不会开车’的人，并将这种形象与‘美国属于美国人’的口号联系起来，所传递的信息远远超出了执法层面。它有可能将一个合法的安全问题变成针对旁遮普人、锡克教徒、南亚裔和移民卡车司机的刻板印象。”

据美联社报道，北美旁遮普卡车运输协会称，大约五分之一的美国卡车司机是锡克教徒，但目前尚无官方估计。

周四，印度裔美国人、伊利诺伊州民主党众议员拉贾·克里希纳穆尔蒂表示，辛格被刺事件发生在“针对锡克教徒和南亚裔美国人的仇恨日益加剧”的背景下，其中也包括来自国土安全部的仇恨。“那些将仇恨转化为暴力的人必须受到追究，”克里希纳穆尔蒂在社交媒体上发帖说。“我们所有人都需要团结起来，共同反对这种仇恨。美国必须做得更好。”

Bzdak目前被关押在斯威特沃特县拘留中心，保释金为100万美元。

加州法院记录显示，他自 2004 年以来在加州有犯罪记录，包括持致命武器袭击、酒后驾车和故意破坏财物等罪行。

Bzdak 的初步听证会定于 9 月 24 日在巡回法院举行。