BLOOMINGTON — An Indiana woman has been charged with a federal hate crime for allegedly attacking an Asian woman while riding a city bus in Bloomington earlier this year.
A federal grand jury in Evansville returned the single-count hate crime indictment against Billie Davis, 56, on Thursday.
Police say an 18-year-old Indiana University student told investigators she was riding a Bloomington Transit bus on Jan. 11. When she stood up to wait for the doors to open at her exit she said another passenger began striking her repeatedly in the head.
Police said the attacker had fled the scene before they arrived, but another passenger followed her and helped officers track her down.
In surveillance video, Davis can be seen stabbing the woman seven times.
"The indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that on Jan. 11, Billie Davis, 56, willfully caused bodily injury to the victim and attempted to do so using a knife, because of the victim’s race and national origin. The indictment also alleges that the offense included an attempt to kill the victim," according to the press release issued by the Department of Justice.
