Passenger’s threat to kill Sikh Uber driver

MOLINE, IL — An Indian American Uber driver was attacked late night near Moline, Illinois, by a passenger who held a gun to his head while spewing a racially-charged tirade.

No arrests have been made in the case, though the suspect has been identified.

“I really felt I was going to die that night. I prayed to God to save my life,” Gurjeet Singh, a Sikh who had driven for Uber for only a month before the attack.

Singh, who serves as the head priest of the Silvis, Illinois, gurdwara, wears a turban and beard in accordance with the tenets of his Sikh religion. On the night of the attack, Singh said he picked up the attacker and his wife from a bar in Moline, and prepared to drive them about five miles away to their home.

Singh said the suspect took the front seat, next to him, while his wife, who is not being named, sat in the back.

As he drove, Singh said the suspect peppered him with questions about his name, where he was from, and his immigration status. Singh said he answered the questions, but could see that the suspect was getting increasingly angry. His wife told him to keep quiet, which made him angrier.

The passenger then asked the driver: “Do you serve our country or do you serve your country?” Singh said he was confused by the question, but replied that he serves both, as his family lives in India and he continues to help them.

Singh pulled over to the side of the rural road. Once the car was stopped, the suspect’s wife reached across to open her husband’s door and pushed him out of the car onto the side of the road, according to the Sikh Coalition.

The Sikh Coalition, which is advocating on Singh’s behalf, expressed concern that three weeks after the armed attack, a suspect has not yet been arrested.