A Sikh truck driver from Sacramento has been discharged from a hospital after being stabbed 17 times in an unprovoked attack in Wyoming, according to a fundraiser for the victim.
Gurvinder Singh, 28, was in the bathroom of a rest stop near Rock Springs last Sunday when the assailant approached him from behind with a knife, officials said. A suspect, identified as Andrew Kris Bzdak, was arrested shortly afterward and has been charged with attempted first-degree murder, police said.
While authorities said the motive remains unclear, the apparent randomness of the crime raised suspicions that it was racially motivated, with activists and some politicians decrying what they described as a rise in hate directed at the South Asian community.
Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove (Sacramento County), said in a Friday statement he was “horrified” by the attack, noting that it came just days after the Department of Homeland Security posted what he described as a “racist caricature” of a Sikh trucker on its official X account.
The post, which has since been deleted, appeared to show a Sikh man facing off with a Transformers character, with captions telling “Mr. Singh” to “get off our roads,” and “self-deport or find out.”
“Rhetoric from the highest levels of our government carries weight,” Bera said in an Instagram post. “When administration officials use the power and platform of the federal government to single out Sikh identity … they fan the flames of hate and reinforce stereotypes that can have real-life consequences.”
Jasjit Singh, director of legal services for the community organization Jakara Movement, visits with Sacramento truck driver Gurvinder Singh after he was attacked in Wyoming. (Jakarta Movement/Tribune News Service)
In a hospital room interview with NPR this week, Singh said he didn’t know why he was attacked.
The truck driver told the news outlet that he was on his way to Pennsylvania when he parked at a rest stop in south Wyoming and that he sensed another man following behind him as he walked inside.
Singh said the man began to beat him before repeatedly stabbing him in the neck and chest, NPR reported. The attacker fled as Singh collapsed on the pavement.
Singh said a Latino family at the rest stop saved his life by tending to his wounds and calling for help.
“They (gave) me the second life,” Singh told NPR.
The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office told the Associated Press that it is still investigating what prompted the attack.
“We have zero motive,” spokesperson Jeff Sheaman told the outlet.
A GoFundMe account set up to help with Singh’s medical expenses said the trucker was released from the hospital Friday but will continue to require follow-up care.
Sweetwater County Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Erramouspe pushed back in an interview with WyoFile on what he described as premature assumptions about the attacker’s motives.
“I don’t understand the reason why everyone wants to find a motive on this other than to satisfy their own political theories,” Erramouspe told the news outlet Friday. “The investigation is still ongoing. We still have a long ways before trial. And so assumptions don’t get anyone further in this case.”
WyoFile reported that Bzdak remained jailed Friday on a $1 million bond and that an initial appearance was scheduled for Thursday.
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This article originally published at Sikh trucker from Sacramento released from Wyoming hospital after unprovoked stabbing .