Sikh truck driver stabbed to death in US
WASHINGTON DC: A 28-year-old Indian-origin Sikh truck driver from Sacramento was stabbed 17 times at a rest area in southern Wyoming while travelling to Pennsylvania. The victim is currently hospitalised with serious injuries around his neck, chest, arms and ribs. The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Andrew Kris Bzdak from San Gabriel, California, has been arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder.
The incident took place in the early hours of September 13, Sunday at the eastbound Bitter Creek Rest Area along Interstate 80. Singh, who asked to be identified only by his surname because of concerns for his safety, had stopped at the facility to use the restroom while driving towards Pennsylvania.
Speaking from his hospital bed, Singh told media that he noticed a man following him into the bathroom. Moments later, the man punched him in the head and neck before pulling out a knife and stabbing him repeatedly.
According to charging documents and media reports, investigators documented 17 lacerations, including wounds to Singh’s neck, chest, arms and rib cage. Singh managed to fight back and push his attacker away before escaping the restroom.
“I thought that now my final time had come”, Singh told the media houses. “I don’t know why this happened. I don’t know why they attack[ed] me”, he later told private media platfoms. Singh was airlifted to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, where he remained hospitalised while recovering from his injuries.
A Spanish family who happened to be at the rest area played a key role in getting Singh timely medical assistance and helping authorities identify the attacker. A woman from the family reportedly heard screaming and grunting coming from the men’s restroom. The family then saw a man run from the building and get into a red semi-truck with a trailer marked “JKC”.
The family followed the vehicle for some distance and photographed identifying information from the truck and trailer before passing it on to police. Singh credited the family with helping save his life. “They [gave] me the second life,” he said.
Dash-cam footage from another truck parked at the rest area showed Singh entering the restroom, followed moments later by a man wearing a black sweater and blue jeans. The man was subsequently seen leaving the facility and returning to his truck.
Wyoming Highway Patrol later located the suspect’s vehicle near Rawlins, around 70 miles from the rest area and stopped it near Exit 209 without incident. Bzdak was taken into custody and charged with attempted first-degree murder. Prosecutors said that he acted with premeditated malice and intended to kill Singh. The charge carries a possible life sentence under Wyoming law.
The stabbing has heightened safety concerns among Sikh, Punjabi truck drivers in the United States and also about the safety of the larger Indian community, who are repeatedly prone to targeted attacks & racist acts. “I am just worried … it can happen again,” Singh said.
Singh, who has worked as a commercial truck driver for around three years, said that the attack has left him shaken. He has also expressed concern about medical expenses and lost working time. “I am scared and also upset because I have [to] work regularly”, he said.
Community advocates have pointed to the large presence of Punjabi and Sikh drivers in the American trucking industry while raising broader concerns about their safety suring long-haul routes.
The incident has also drawn attention because it occurred days after a controversial social-media post by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) featuring an AI-generated image of a Sikh man identified as “Mr Singh”.
The graphic, titled “Transformers: Age of Deportations”, depicted a Sikh man wearing a head covering opposite a Transformers-style figure carrying the DHS insignia. It included messages telling “Mr Singh” to “get off our roads” and urging him to “self-deport”.
The post was subsequently removed following criticism from Sikh organisations, Indian-American groups and Democratic lawmakers. DHS later said that the graphic specifically referred to Harjinder Singh, an Indian national charged in connection with a fatal 2025 Florida Turnpike crash that killed three people.
The department has rejected attempts to link its post to the Wyoming stabbing, describing such claims as “RECKLESS and FALSE”. However, it is said that such biased and prejudiced content by the US government will stimulate or provoke people to escalate targeted attacks. Thus, concerns spike regarding the safety of the Indian-origin community in the United States, who are increasingly prone to targeted violence, abuse and other heinous crimes.
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the attack and expressed concern over what he described as rising hatred targeting Sikh and South Asian Americans. “I’m horrified by the brutal attack on a Sikh truck driver who was stabbed 17 times at a Wyoming rest stop,” Krishnamoorthi said in a post on X.
He also referred to the recent DHS post, saying that those spreading hatred, including officials in the federal government, should stop, while those who turn hatred into violence should be held accountable. California Congressman Mike Thompson also condemned the attack and called for a thorough investigation and justice for the victim.
