<\/p>\n
Jasjit Singh Dhanoa, Jakara Movement director of legal services, talks with a Sacramento truck driver who was attacked in Wyoming on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Jakara Movement<\/p>\n
As he stood before a bathroom mirror at a Wyoming rest area off Interstate 80, a Sacramento truck driver saw a strange man step up behind him.<\/p>\n
The stranger slammed a fist into his head, then plunged a knife into his arms, chest and rib cage, the 28-year-old trucker later recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought that now my final time had come,\u201d said the truck driver, who asked to be identified only by his surname, Singh.<\/p>\n
The Sweetwater County Sheriff\u2019s Office<\/a> in Wyoming has arrested a suspect in connection to the Sunday, Sept. 13, attack, which sent shockwaves across social media.<\/p>\n Singh is part of Northern California\u2019s Punjabi Sikh community.<\/p>\n About 35% of California\u2019s commercial drivers are Sikh, members of a religious minority who hail from India, according to the North America Punjabi Trucking Association.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThere is no known motive for the attack at this time, and there is no threat to the public,\u201d Jeff Sheaman, a public information officer with the Sheriff\u2019s Office, said in an email. \u201cWe will not be releasing any information until the investigation is complete.\u201d<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how Singh described the \u201chorrific attack\u201d to The Sacramento Bee:<\/p>\n According to the Sweetwater County Sheriff\u2019s Office, the stabbing took place<\/a> early Sunday morning near the Bitter Creek rest area at mile marker on I-80.<\/p>\n Singh, who has been driving trucks commercially on I-80 for the past three years, said he walked into the rest area\u2019s bathroom after parking his truck.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I entered the restroom, I just looked in the mirror,\u201d Singth told The Bee in a phone interview on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Then a man dressed in a blue tracksuit \u201crushed in, punched me in the neck, pushed me against the wall and kept punching me in the face,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Singh said he pushed his attacker away, but the man launched a second attack \u2014 this time with a knife.<\/p>\n \u201cI received cuts on my arms, neck and chest, including a deep cut on the left side of my chest under my arm,\u201d Singh said. \u201cI was able to see the naked bone on my right arm.\u201d<\/p>\n As blood gushed from deep puncture wounds on his torso and limbs, Singh fought to get away from his attacker.<\/p>\n The man lost his footing on the slick floor, left the bathroom and \u201cfled the scene in his truck,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when a disoriented Singh headed out of the restroom toward the dark parking area, desperate for help.<\/p>\n \u201cI pulled out my phone and called 911 for assistance,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n Singh then spotted a family at the truck stop. \u201cI told the family that I had sustained injuries from the attack and asked for their help,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to Singh, the family tried to chase his attacker but later returned to the rest area with towels to treat his injuries.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Hispanic family stayed with me until I was taken away in the ambulance,\u201d Singh recalled, expressing gratitude for their kindness.<\/p>\n Sheriff\u2019s deputies, Wyoming Highway Patrol respond to stabbing<\/p>\n Deputies with the Sweetwater County Sheriff\u2019s Office were notified about the stabbing at approximately 3:27 a.m. Sunday, according to an agency news release.<\/p>\n When they arrived at the scene, deputies and a trooper from the Wyoming Highway Patrol<\/a> found Singh \u201csuffering from multiple cuts and stab wounds,\u201d the release said.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring the investigation, it was determined the suspect had fled the scene in a tractor-trailer combination towards Rawlins following the attack,\u201d the Sheriff\u2019s Office said, adding that Singh provided law enforcement officials with a description of the suspect and the vehicle he was driving.<\/p>\n The Sheriff\u2019s Office said emergency medical services personnel then transported Singh to a trauma facility.<\/p>\n California man arrested on suspicion of attempted murder<\/p>\n According to the Sheriff\u2019s Office, Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers found the suspect \u2014 later identified as Andrew Kris Bzdak, 44, of San Gabriel \u2014 in Rawlins.<\/p>\n Bzdak was \u201ctaken into custody without incident,\u201d the Sheriff\u2019s Office said.<\/p>\n As of Thursday, Sept. 17, Bzdak was being held at Sweetwater County Detention Center<\/a> on suspicion of attempted murder, according to jail records and the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n Sikh community members across the United States have reacted to news of the attack with sorrow and anger.<\/p>\n A video showing Singh bleeding<\/a> while lying in the rest area circulated on social media after being posted by numerous people, including a Facebook user identified as Malhix47<\/a>.<\/p>\n One Facebook user, Adv Jagjit Singh, called the incident a \u201chate crime,\u201d<\/p>\n The incident occurred just days after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security posted, and later deleted, an X post<\/a> featuring an image of a bearded man facing Optimus Prime with the text \u201cself-deport or find out\u201d and \u201cGet off our roads, you don\u2019t know how to drive Mr. Singh.\u201d<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> and Indian American groups condemned the Sept. 9 post as \u201cracist propaganda\u201d targeting Sikhs. The DHS said the post was intended to depict Harjinder Singh, a truck driver involved in a fatal crash in Florida<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Sheriff\u2019s Office has said there is no known motive at this time, but we cannot separate this incident from the climate in which it happened,\u201d Jasjit Singh Dhanoa,, an attorney and director of legal services at the Jakara Movement<\/a>, told NPR.<\/p>\n The prominent Sikh advocacy group<\/a> is based in Fresno.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen our own federal government uses a Sikh name and image to tell people like us that they do not belong on America\u2019s roads, our community has every reason to be concerned about the environment that kind of rhetoric creates<\/a>,\u201d Dhanoa told NPR.<\/p>\n The DHS told NPR that \u201cany attempt to blame DHS for an unrelated attack is RECKLESS and FALSE.\u201d<\/p>\n On Wednesday, Sept. 15, Dhanoa met with Singh at the Wyoming hospital on Wednesday where he is recovering.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are supporting him as he heals\u201d and navigates the legal process, Dhanoa said, adding that Singh is maintaining a positive spirit.<\/p>\n \u201cThis unprovoked attack is deeply concerning, especially amid heightened anxiety around (Department of Homeland Security) and immigration enforcement, and underscores the need to protect Punjabi Sikh and all immigrant drivers,\u201d Dhanoa told The Bee.<\/p>\n Sacramento man recovers from injuries<\/p>\n Singh said he \u201csustained a total of 17 injuries\u201d in Sunday\u2019s attack, including a serious injury to one of his ribs.<\/p>\n At first, his family in India didn\u2019t know what had happened to him.<\/p>\n His brother was tracking his location live when the attack occurred on Sunday and called him multiple times without getting an answer.<\/p>\n Eventually, Singh\u2019s cousin in Canada reached out, and Singh shared his ordeal.<\/p>\n \u201cI informed my family about the incident but didn\u2019t disclose the full extent of what happened to avoid causing them more worry,\u201d Singh said.<\/p>\n Now in the hospital, Singh is on the road to recovery.<\/p>\n \u201cI have undergone X-rays and other procedures,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope to be discharged soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Loading\u2026<\/p>\n This story was originally published September 17, 2026 at 12:12 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n A Sacramento truck driver who was attacked in Wyoming on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, recovers at a Wyoming hospital. Courtesy of Jakara Movement Sacramento truck driver recalls brutal attack in Wyoming<\/p>\n
Jasjit Singh Dhanoa, Jakara Movement director of legal services, talks with a Sacramento truck driver who was attacked in Wyoming on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026. Courtesy of Jakara Movement Sikh community reacts to rest area stabbing<\/p>\n