An 18-year-old female student was stabbed in the head repeatedly because she was Asian, says Indiana University

• An Indiana woman has been charged with the attempted murder and aggravated battery of a student.
• Indiana University said the stabbing of the young female student was an anti-Asian hate crime.

An Indiana woman has been charged with the attempted murder and aggravated battery of a student from Indiana University, reports say.

The university has said the alleged assault on the 18-year-old female was racially motivated.

The incident happened last week in the afternoon on a bus, with court documents reporting that the victim was stabbed seven times as she was Asian, Reuters reports.

According to local news outlet The Bloomingtonian, Billie Davis, 56, told police, "It would be one less person to blow up our country."

The outlet reports that the victim, whose name has remained withheld, suffered from numerous puncture wounds to the head as a result of the attack.

Police told the Bloomingtonian that surveillance footage from the bus shows that Davis attacked the victim as she was exiting the bus, taking a folding knife and stabbing her in the top of her head approximately seven times.

After she had finished the attack, Davis returned to her seat.

"This week, Bloomington was sadly reminded that anti-Asian hate is real," James Wimbush, the university's vice president for diversity, said in a statement posted on Twitter on Friday.

Wimbush added that the University "stands firmly" with Asian and Asian American students and staff at the university.

John Hamilton, The Mayor of Bloomington, said, "Bloomington is a relatively safe place but we are not immune to issues with which our entire nation is dealing. This senseless incident is a reminder that we should all look out for each other, be aware of our surroundings and seek to combat racism and prejudice in all its forms wherever and whenever we encounter it."

The Mayor thanked emergency responders, the University, and the local community for "embracing the victim and providing appropriate support as she goes through this terrible ordeal."