A Sikh truck driver in Wyoming was stabbed 17 times at a rest area in the United States, NPR reported on Thursday.
The incident comes days after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) posted a controversial AI-generated graphic targeting a man identified as “Mr Singh” as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The 28-year-old truck driver, a resident of Sacramento, was hospitalised after the attack with injuries to his neck, chest, arms and ribs, according to the NPR report.
The Punjabi told NPR that he was attacked after a man followed him into a bathroom at the Bitter Creek Rest Area along Interstate 80 early Sunday morning.
Speaking to NPR, Singh said that after he entered the bathroom, the man began beating him before pulling out a knife and stabbing him multiple times.
The attacker then fled the scene, while Singh managed to step outside before collapsing on the pavement.
The report said that a Hispanic family at the rest stop heard Singh crying for help and rushed to assist him, attempting to attend to his wounds and get medical help.
The stabbing came days after the posted an AI-generated, Transformer-style graphic featuring a Sikh man identified as “Mr Singh”.
The movie-style poster, titled “Transformers: Age of Deportations”, showed a large Transformer carrying a DHS insignia and facing a Sikh man wearing a head covering.
The graphic also carried the message, “America for Americans. Get off our roads; you don’t know how to drive, Mr Singh.”
The removed the controversial graphic following backlash from Indian-American groups and Democratic leaders.
The department also reiterated its message urging “Mr Singh” to self-deport.
However, the use of a Sikh figure named “Mr Singh” in the campaign triggered backlash, with people accusing the department of racial and religious profiling.
The post was part of the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement campaign, encouraging undocumented immigrants to leave the United States.
The Hindu American Foundation also criticised the DHS campaign. “Singhs are Hindu, they are Sikhs, they are American, and they drive,” the organisation said in a post on X.
The Sikh Coalition also raised concerns, saying, “Twenty-five years after 9/11, Sikhs are still being targeted and profiled for how we look.”
Indian-origin Democratic Congressman reacted to the attack. “I’m horrified by the brutal attack on a Sikh truck driver who was stabbed 17 times at a Wyoming rest stop,” he wrote on X.
