An 18-year-old Indiana University student was hospitalized after she was stabbed multiple times by a woman on a bus near the university’s campus, in an attack authorities say was racially motivated.
According to Bloomington police, first responders were dispatched to a bus stop at W. 4th Street and B-Line Trail around 4:45 p.m. Wednesday for reports of an assault with injury.
The 18-year-old victim, an Indiana University Asian student, told investigators she was standing and waiting for the exit doors to open on a Bloomington Transit bus when another passenger, Billie Davis, 54, began hit her in the head, Bloomington police said in a statement.
This photo provided by the Bloomington Police Department shows Billie Davis.
(Bloomington Police Department)
Davis stabbed the victim multiple times in the head with a folding knife, reportedly saying he would “be one less person to blow up our country.”
The 56-year-old woman and the student did not interact before the vicious attack, surveillance footage from the bus shows.
A witness who was also riding the bus followed the woman’s attacker and contacted police, who later arrested Davis.
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Court documents show that Davis admitted to attacking the teen because of her race, according to WNDU-TV. Davis has been charged with attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, as well as aggravated assault.
She is being held at the Monroe County Jail on a $1,000 cash bond.
The victim was treated at a hospital for multiple stab wounds. Her name was not revealed.
“Bloomington was sadly reminded this week that anti-Asian hate is real and can have painful impacts on individuals and our community,” said James Wimbush, Indiana University vice president for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs, in a statement. a statement. “No one should face harassment or violence because of their origin, ethnicity or heritage. Instead, the Bloomington and IU communities are stronger because of the great diversity of identities and perspectives that make up our campus and community culture.”
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Bloomington is in southern Indiana. Mayor John Hamilton called behavior like the bus attack “not acceptable” and said it “will be dealt with accordingly.”
“We know that when a racially motivated incident like this resonates throughout the community, it can make us feel less safe,” Hamilton said in a statement Saturday. “We stand with our Asian community and everyone who feels threatened by this event.”
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In recent years, Asian Americans have been increasingly subjected to racially motivated harassment and assault, especially after the start of the coronavirus pandemic. A Stop AAPI Hate report published in 2021 showed that 9,000 cases of hate crimes against Asians had been reported since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
