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Brown Co. man found not guilty by reason of insanity in hatchet attack on high school student

Posted at 5:50 PM, Aug 16, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-16 17:50:46-04

BROWN COUNTY, Ind. -- A man was found not guilty by reason of insanity Wednesday in the February 2016 hatchet attack on an 18-year-old Brown County High School student.

61-year-old Dana Ericson of Nashville will remain in custody until his is committed to a state facility.

The victim was a foreign exchange student from China who is now in college.

She was in downtown Nashville taking pictures for a class project when police say Ericson attacked her with a hatchet.

Prosecutors called it an act of "ethnic cleansing."

PREVIOUS | Suspect called hatchet attack on Brown Co. student 'ethnic cleansing'

According to the probable cause affidavit, Ericson told police he struck the student and said, "Is it a crime to strike evil?"

The document says that Ericson said he targeted her because she was Asian.

The probable cause affidavit goes on to say that Ericson admitted he is a white supremacist who said he, "hates these people."