← Back to all diffs
NPR

A Sikh truck driver is stabbed amid a rise in anti-South Asian rhetoric

View original article →
+778 words added -664 words removed
Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
− Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Sikh truck driver stabbing rattles South Asian community The driver said he was shaken by a violent encounter at a rest stop, which he described as unprovoked.
+ Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics Sikh truck driver stabbing rattles South Asian community Singh, the driver, sustained 17 lacerations, including to his neck and chest, according to court documents recently obtained by NPR.
− National A Sikh truck driver is stabbed amid a rise in anti-South Asian rhetoric Updated September 17, 20268:39 PM ET Originally published September 17, 20265:00 AM ET Juliana Kim Freight trucks travel northbound on Interstate 5 Highway in September 2025, in Tracy, Calif.
+ National A Sikh truck driver is stabbed amid a rise in anti-South Asian rhetoric Updated September 18, 20261:07 PM ET Originally published September 17, 20265:00 AM ET Juliana Kim Freight trucks travel northbound on Interstate 5 Highway in September 2025, in Tracy, Calif.
Godofredo A.
− Vásquez/AP hide caption A Punjabi Sikh truck driver in Wyoming said he was followed into a bathroom and stabbed repeatedly in an attack that has stoked fear across the greater South Asian community.
+ Vásquez/AP hide caption A Punjabi Sikh truck driver in Wyoming said he was followed into a rest stop bathroom and stabbed repeatedly in an attack that has stoked fear across the greater South Asian community.
In an interview with NPR, the driver Singh said he was shaken by the violent encounter from earlier this week, which he described as unprovoked. Singh asked to only be identified by his last name due to fear for his safety. " I don't know why this happened," he said from his hospital room.
− "I don't know why they attack[ed] me." Early Sunday morning, on his way to Pennsylvania, Singh said he parked at a rest area in south Wyoming to use the bathroom.
+ "I don't know why they attack[ed] me. Early Sunday morning, on his way to Pennsylvania, Singh said he parked at a rest area in south Wyoming to use the bathroom.
− He added that he had visited the rest stop many times in the past without any problems.
+ He added that he had visited the rest stop in the past without any problems.
As he walked inside, Singh said he sensed another man following behind him.
− Moments later, Singh said the man began to beat him before pulling out a knife and stabbing him multiple times around his body, including his neck.
+ Moments later, Singh said the man began to beat him before pulling out what he says was a knife and stabbing him repeatedly.
The attacker then fled and Singh stepped outside before collapsing onto the pavement, he recalled.
− Singh said his life was saved by a Hispanic family, who just so happened to be at the rest area.
+ Singh added that his life was saved by a Hispanic family, who just so happened to be at the rest area.
− He said the family tried to attend to his wounds and seek medical help.
+ He said the family tried to attend to his wounds and seek help.
− National The Trump administration's crackdown on immigrant truckers shifts into higher gear " They [gave] me the second life," he said.
+ " They [gave] me the second life," he said According to court documents obtained by NPR, witnesses described the suspect as a white male who also drove a truck. The documents added that Singh sustained 17 lacerations, including to his neck and chest.
− As of Wednesday night, Singh remained in the hospital, with multiple lacerations and injuries to his chest and rib, he added. Local law enforcement have since arrested Andrew Kris Bzdak, 45, and charged him with attempted first-degree murder, according to charging documents obtained by NPR.
+ National The Trump administration's crackdown on immigrant truckers shifts into higher gear Local law enforcement have since arrested Andrew Kris Bzdak and charged him with attempted first-degree murder.
− The documents did not state a motive.
+ His bail was set at $1 million. The court documents did not state a motive. Efforts to reach Bzdak for comment were not immediately successful.
− The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office and the local prosecutor did not immediately respond to requests for additional information.
+ The Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office and the local prosecutor did not respond to requests for additional information.
− The attack in Wyoming comes amid a significant national rise in hateful rhetoric targeting South Asians, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a group that tracks hate acts against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
+ The attack in Wyoming comes amid a significant national rise in hateful rhetoric targeting South Asians. Sikh Americans, in particular, have been a target of the Trump administration's crackdown on noncitizen truck drivers.
− A recent example came last week when the Department of Homeland Security posted an image on social media depicting an Indian man with the words "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr.
+ A recent example came last week when the Department of Homeland Security posted an image on social media depicting a Sikh man with the words "Get off our roads, you don't know how to drive Mr.
− Singh." In a statement, the DHS told NPR that the image depicted Harjinder Singh, an Indian immigrant and truck driver who was accused of making an illegal U-turn and causing a fatal crash in Florida last year.
+ Singh." In a statement, DHS told NPR that the image depicted Harjinder Singh, an Indian immigrant and truck driver who was accused of making an illegal U-turn and causing a fatal crash in Florida last year.
"Harjinder Singh is an illegal alien from India who should never have been in our country," DHS said in its statement. The post was removed from social media the next day, following swift backlash from political leaders and advocacy groups that criticized the image as racist and dehumanizing to an entire community of people with the last name Singh, which is common among people practicing the Sikh religion.
− National Thousands of U.S. trucking schools could lose accreditation under DOT crackdown "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," said Jasjit Singh, an attorney and director of legal services at the Jakara Movement, a California-based organization that serves the Punjabi Sikh community and has been providing support to the victim.
+ "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," said Jasjit Singh, an attorney and director of legal services at the Jakara Movement, a California-based organization that serves the Punjabi Sikh community and has been providing support to the victim.
"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," he added.
− Singh recently visited the Wyoming victim in person.
+ Jasjit Singh recently visited the Wyoming victim in person.
− When asked about the Wyoming attack, the DHS said the agency will not speculate on motives, adding, "Any attempt to blame DHS for an unrelated attack is RECKLESS and FALSE." In a report published this month, Stop AAPI Hate found that slurs used online against South Asians rose by 109% between January 2023 and December 2025.
+ The office of California Gov.
− The report found that the rise in anti-South Asian rhetoric was fueled by the Florida truck crash, President Trump's re-election, debates over H-1B visas, and Zohran Mamdani's New York City mayoral campaign.
+ Gavin Newsom, who is a Democrat, said his thoughts were with the victim, who is from Sacramento, and condemned the Trump administration.
+ "The President's now redacted social media post is one proof point — his hateful rhetoric is hurting our communities," his office said in a statement. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) has also spoken out about the attack and called for an end to the spread of hate, including by federal officials. "America must be better than this," he said in a statement. National Thousands of U.S. trucking schools could lose accreditation under DOT crackdown When asked about the Wyoming attack, DHS said the agency will not speculate on motives, adding, "Any attempt to blame DHS for an unrelated attack is RECKLESS and FALSE." Between January 2023 and December 2025, slurs used online against South Asians rose by 109%, according to Stop AAPI Hate, which tracks hate acts against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. In a report published this month, the group found that the rise in anti-South Asian rhetoric was fueled by the Florida truck crash, President Trump's re-election, debates over H-1B visas, and Zohran Mamdani's New York City mayoral campaign.
Raman Dhillon, the head of the North American Punjabi Trucking Association, said since the attack, truck drivers have reached out to him with concerns about their own safety. "It's on everybody's mind," he said.
− "We never thought in this country that we will ever gonna think about things like this." Singh, who lives in Sacramento and has been a truck driver for three years, said he was aware of the rhetoric targeting his community.
+ "We never thought in this country that we will ever gonna think about things like this." Singh, who has been a truck driver for three years, said he was aware of the rhetoric targeting his community.
Although it worried him, Singh said it didn't stop him from working because he needed the income. As he recovers in the hospital, Singh said he was stressed about medical bills and missing days of work. "I am scared and also upset because I have [to] work regularly" he said.
− Singh said he was also fearful for other Sikh truck drivers.
+ Singh added that he was also fearful for other Sikh truck drivers.
" I am just worried … it can happen again," he said. NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR. Sponsor Message Become an NPR sponsor