Police say Bloomington bus stabbing suspect targeted victim due to race; ‘One less person to blow up our country’

UPDATE: Billie Davis’ attorneys have filed a notice of insanity defense and motion to determine competency. A judge has requested Davis undergo mental health evaluations.

ORIGINAL STORY:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Bloomington police arrested a woman who admitted to stabbing an 18-year-old as she was getting off the bus and targeting her based on her race.

The victim, an 18-year-old female, told police as she was exiting a Bloomington Transit bus on 4th Street near the B-Line Trail Wednesday afternoon, an unknown woman who was also riding the bus hit her multiple times in the head with an unknown object.

Police said the victim had multiple lacerations. She was taken to the hospital, where doctors realized she had multiple stab wounds to her head.

Police said the alleged attacker had fled before they arrived, but another bus passenger had followed the suspect and helped officers track her down.

The suspect was identified as 56-year-old Billie Davis. She told officers she used a folding knife to stab the victim in the head.

Court documents state the attack was racially motivated due to the victim being Asian. Davis told police she targeted the victim due to her “being Chinese” and said it “would be one less person to blow up our country.”

Investigators also reviewed surveillance footage that captured the attack. Davis was seen removing a knife from her pocket, stabbing the victim seven times, putting the knife back in her pocket, and returning to her seat, according to investigators. They said the victim and Davis had no prior interaction before the attack.

Davis was booked into the Monroe County Jail on a preliminary charge of aggravated battery. Detectives amended the charge to attempted murder after reviewing the case and interviewing Davis.

It’s unclear if Davis will also be charged with a hate crime due to her targeting the victim because she was Asian.

The stabbing happened in an area heavily frequented by Indiana University students, however it did not happen on IU’s campus. Based off the IU student directory, the victim is a student.