Knife attack on Sikh trucker in Wyoming stirs fresh fears in community

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FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) — The stabbing of a truck driver at a remote Wyoming rest stop had U.S. Sikhs on edge Friday amid rising anti-immigrant vitriol against the community and its truck drivers in particular.

The Sikh victim was attacked from behind early Sunday while in a restroom at the Bitter Creek rest stop on Interstate 80 midway between Cheyenne and Salt Lake City, according to court documents. He suffered stabs to the neck and chest and over a dozen other cuts but survived.

While police say the motive is unknown, the attack came after deadly crashes involving Sikh truck drivers led to debate about commercial driver’s licensing requirements — sparking hatred toward Sikhs as a group, community leaders said.

Anti-Sikh sentiment has been especially severe on truck-driving forums, said one Sikh in the trucking industry, Harsimran Singh, CEO of Gillson Trucking in Stockton, California.

“I’ve been here for the last 25-plus years,” Singh said. “I never felt this kind of hate before.”

Police were still investigating what prompted the Wyoming attack by a man who left the rest area…