Bloomington police: Suspect in bus passenger assault charged with attempted murder

A 56-year-old Bloomington woman has been arrested and charged with attempted murder in connection with a stabbing of a public bus passenger, according to a Thursday afternoon news release from city police.

The stabbing took place the day before, on Jan. 11, according to the Bloomington police department (BPD) news release.

The assault took place Wednesday around 4:45 p.m. on a Bloomington Transit bus, when it stopped at the intersection of 4th Street and the B-Line Trail, according to the news release.

The suspect, Billie R. Davis, was initially booked into Monroe County Jail on a charge of battery, which is a level 5 felony.

But after the victim’s wounds had been cleaned at the hospital, it was determined that she had several stab wounds to her head, and the charge was amended to attempted murder. The news release describes the victim as an 18-year-old Carmel woman.

Police are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, or thinks they have more information, to call detective Rob Shrake at (812) 349-3352.

The victim reported that as she was waiting for the bus doors to open, to exit the bus, another passenger on the bus starting hitting her in the head over and over again. The suspect also got off the bus and started towards Kirkwood Avenue, according to the news release.

A witness who had been on the bus followed the suspect on foot and provided police with updated locations of the suspect until officers could arrive and detain the woman, according to the news release.

The news release says BPD investigators were able to review security camera footage from inside the bus, which showed the assault.

According to the release, the video footage did not show any interactions between the suspect and the victim, before the suspect stabbed the victim several times in the head, as the victim waited for the bus doors to open.