4 hrs ago
Sikh Trucker Stabbed 17 Times After DHS ‘Mr. Singh’ Post
A Sikh truck driver named Singh was attacked at a highway rest stop in Wyoming.
He was stabbed 17 times but escaped and called for help.
A family nearby helped identify the suspected attacker, who was arrested later that morning.
The suspect was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
Police have not announced a motive, so it is not known whether the attack was related to Singh’s religion or ethnicity.
The attack happened a few days after the Department of Homeland Security posted and later removed a message about a person called “Mr.
Singh.”
Sikh groups and Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi said the message could encourage hostility, but DHS denied that it caused or was connected to the stabbing.
A separate report described the killing of Shalini Thakur in Sacramento after alleged stalking.
A 28-year-old Sikh truck driver was stabbed 17 times at Wyoming’s Bitter Creek Rest Area on September 13, 2026.
Andrew Kris Bzdak of San Gabriel, California, was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder; authorities say the motive remains unknown.
The attack occurred days after the Department of Homeland Security removed a controversial “Mr. Singh” social-media post criticized as racist and dehumanizing.
Sikh organizations and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi called for accountability and an investigation into possible racial or religious bias, while DHS denied a known connection.
A separate incident involved the September 8 shooting death of Shalini Thakur in Sacramento after authorities said she had allegedly been stalked.
- Who
- A 28-year-old Sikh truck driver identified as Singh was attacked; Andrew Kris Bzdak was arrested. Sikh organizations and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi responded publicly.
- What
- Singh was stabbed 17 times in a rest-area restroom and Bzdak was charged with attempted first-degree murder.
- Where
- The stabbing occurred at the Bitter Creek Rest Area on Interstate 80 in Wyoming. Thakur was shot near her vehicle at a Sacramento, California, shopping centre.
- When
- The Wyoming attack was reported as occurring on September 13, 2026, about four days after the DHS post of September 9. Shalini Thakur was killed on September 8.
- Why
- The motive for the stabbing has not been established. Authorities said Thakur had allegedly been stalked before her shooting.
Critics and Sikh advocates
DHS and law-enforcement position
Meaning of the DHS post
Critics and Sikh advocates
Sikh organizations, Indian-American groups and Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi described the post as racist, dehumanizing and likely to reinforce stereotypes about Sikh and South Asian people.
DHS and law-enforcement position
DHS presented the post as part of an immigration-enforcement campaign concerning commercial drivers and said it referred specifically to Harjinder Singh, who was charged in a fatal Florida crash.
Connection to the stabbing
Critics and Sikh advocates
Advocates said the timing created legitimate concern about the climate surrounding Sikh drivers and called for investigators to examine possible racial or religious bias.
DHS and law-enforcement position
DHS called attempts to blame the agency reckless and false, while authorities said the stabbing’s motive was unknown and had not confirmed a hate-related connection.
Accountability
Critics and Sikh advocates
Krishnamoorthi urged officials and others spreading anti-Sikh or anti-South Asian rhetoric to stop and called for those who turn hate into violence to be held accountable.
DHS and law-enforcement position
The suspect faces a criminal prosecution for attempted first-degree murder, but the available reports do not establish that the charge was motivated by racial or religious hatred.
Key facts
- Victim
- A 28-year-old Sikh truck driver from Sacramento who identified himself publicly only by the surname Singh.
- Injuries
- Investigators documented 17 lacerations, including wounds to the neck, chest, arms and ribs.
- Arrest
- Andrew Kris Bzdak, 44 or 45, of San Gabriel, California, was arrested near Rawlins, Wyoming.
- Charge
- Bzdak was charged with attempted first-degree murder, a charge that prosecutors allege involved premeditation and intent to kill.
- DHS post
- A September 9 post showed an AI-generated, Sikh-associated “Mr. Singh” figure and included the phrases “get off our roads” and “self-deport or find out.”
- Official responses
- DHS said there was no known connection to the stabbing, while Sikh organizations and Raja Krishnamoorthi called for scrutiny of possible bias.
- Separate Sacramento case
- Authorities said 38-year-old Shalini Thakur was shot on September 8 after allegedly being stalked; the man identified as Rohit later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Quotes
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The federal department responsible for the immigration-enforcement social media campaign
“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. 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”
indianexpress.com
“Those spreading this hate, including officials in our own federal government, need to stop. Those who turn it into violence must be held accountable.”
thestatesman.com
Sources
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