Chinese Student Repeatedly Stabbed In Head By US Woman On A Bus For 'Being Chinese'

The victim, an Indiana University student of Asian heritage, was repeatedly stabbed seven times on a city bus last week by the suspect in an unprovoked attack, according to court filings and a student organization. The suspect allegedly claimed that she was motivated by race.

Billie Davis, 56, a White woman, has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, and battery with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack on Jan. 11 in Bloomington, according to court documents. This appears to be the latest instance of an uptick in anti-Asian discrimination nationwide. It wasn't immediately obvious if she had legal representation, reports CNN.

Based on a probable cause statement, Davis and the victim were traveling separately on the bus when the victim tried to exit, Davis allegedly got up from a nearby seat and used a folding knife to stab the victim in the head, creating puncture wounds.

Davis eventually admitted to stabbing and told police she stabbed the woman multiple times in the head with a folding knife, because "it would be one less person to blow up our country."

After being stabbed, Davis exited the bus, made her way outside, and threw the knife away before authorities got to her, it states. According to the documents, the victim was taken in a medical emergency; her condition is unknown.

The document claims that no confrontation between Davis and the victim was shown on the bus surveillance tape prior to the attack.

The attack, which coincides with an uptick in reported harassment and assaults against Asian Americans as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, has been denounced by city and university leaders. Reports of hate crimes against Asians in 16 of the country's main cities and counties increased by 164% in the first quarter of 2021 compared to the same period last year, based on a study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

The mayor of Bloomington condemned hate-based violence after last week's bus attack, admitting that "racially motivated incidents like these... can leave us feeling less safe."

James Wimbush, vice president for diversity, equality, and multicultural affairs at Indiana University, said the incident served as a wake-up call to the community that "anti-Asian bigotry is real and can have severe repercussions on individuals and our community."

"To our Asian and Asian American friends, colleagues, students, and neighbors, we stand firmly with you," Wimbush said in a statement. "No one should face harassment or violence due to their background, ethnicity, or heritage."

In a statement, the Indiana University Asian Culture Center stated that it was "outraged and heartbroken by this unprovoked act of violence" and that the victim was an Asian student who was 18 years old. "We should not be fearing for our lives on public transportation. Taking the bus should not feel dangerous.”

According to online court documents, Davis is being held at the Monroe County Jail under a $100,000 surety bail and a $1,000 cash bond.