LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) - The man accused of launching a knife attack has been identified as a former student at Transylvania University. Online writings posted to the suspect's social media indicate he was strongly opposed to what he believed was the school's liberal position.
Police tell LEX 18 that Mitchell Adkins entered Jazzman's Cafe on campus armed with a machete and a bag full of knives shortly before 9 a.m. Friday.
Witnesses said he yelled, "The day of reckoning is here!"
He then pulled out the machete and attacked a female student, according to police. She was sent to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Another female was struck and was treated at the scene.
Witnesses tell LEX 18 that the attack was political.
"He asked the first girl if she was a Democrat or a Republican. She said Republican. He said okay, then asked some other girl," said Michael Soder, who witnessed the attack.
Witnesses say the attacker told the girl who identified as a Republican that she was safe. They say that when the victim gave the attacker an answer he didn't like, he stabbed her.
"By that time, some of my friends were running out and yelling for us to leave, and I tried to stay behind to see if -- I mean I didn't know what to do, I wanted to help, but I knew I should get out of there," said Soder.
Lexington police say campus officers were on top of the situation and had Adkins subdued before he could harm more people. It has been confirmed Transylvania University President Seamus Carey assisted campus police during the ordeal.
In a letter to the Transylvania community, President Carey mentions Erika Lyvers, an employee at Jazzman's Café saying, "Erika Lyvers, along with her colleague Marcia Figgs, has a kind word for every student she serves each day in Jazzman’s Café. This morning she picked up a chair to go after a 230-pound man wielding a hatchet. As we were talking in the aftermath of the incident, I commented on her courage. She summed up how we all feel today: “These students are our babies. Nobody’s going to hurt one of them without a fight.”"
Adkins was taken to the hospital to be checked out but he is now in police custody facing charges of first-degree assault, wanton endangerment and assault. He had self-inflicted wounds, police confirm.
Classes on Transylvania's campus are canceled Friday. However, counselors are available to help students as they process the traumatic event.
Several Fayette County schools were on heightened alert. Sayre School was also on lockdown.
Area roads were blocked as police continued the investigation.
Witnesses identify Adkins as a student who posted a controversial Buzzfeed article two years ago. According to what witnesses say is his personal Facebook page, he wrote an article complaining about the treatment of conservative students on Transy's campus. The article "Discrimination Of Conservatives In Liberal Arts" states, "I'm the one who's lashed out at for being a "racist" or "bigot", some even go as far as saying "bane of society" or "fascist Nazi"." In the article, there is an update that says, "Dropping out of college was hard, but it made me realize that I'm here for myself, and I need to learn to ignore the occasional plagues of society so I can better myself and make sure to never stoop to their level."
Following the attack, the University of Kentucky posted support to the Transy community on Twitter.
We have a crew on the scene and will update this story as more information is released.
President Seamus Carey released a letter about the attack. It reads:
"Dear Transylvania Community:
This morning a grave incident occurred on our campus. A former Transylvania student, who withdrew in 2015, returned to campus and randomly attacked one of our first-year students in an act of brutal violence. The campus was quickly secured by Transylvania’s Department of Public Safety and Lexington’s Police Department, who then arrested the perpetrator and removed him from campus. Our student was transported to the University of Kentucky Hospital, and she is expected to make a full recovery.
This incident could have been significantly worse if not for the alertness and courage of several members of our community. From our staff in Jazzman’s, who resisted the perpetrator and helped students to safety, to our campus public safety officers, who responded in seconds to the emergency alert signal, to Joy Henderson, from our Accounting Department, who held together the victim’s wounds until the ambulance came, we are a resilient, compassionate, strong community. We are all grateful that our student will recover, and we should all be incredibly proud to be Pioneers.
This afternoon I was asked how we will move on from this incident. We have taken all the steps necessary to care for our students, faculty, and staff. Counselors are available around-the-clock and we are ready to answer any questions that come from families or community members.
But we will move on by doing what we are all here to do: we will continue to educate the men and women entrusted to our care. At Transylvania, the educational process goes far beyond the transmitting of knowledge. It is a journey that opens doors to the world and to our souls. It challenges us to articulate and refine the values by which we want to live, and it cultivates the courage to live by those values. It builds upon 237 years of tradition and the accumulation of wisdom that defines us. Finally, a Transylvania education works because we care. We care about ideas and truth and honesty. We care about the world and how we can contribute to it. And we care, deeply, about each other.
Erika Lyvers, along with her colleague Marcia Figgs, has a kind word for every student she serves each day in Jazzman’s Café. This morning she picked up a chair to go after a 230-pound man wielding a hatchet. As we were talking in the aftermath of the incident, I commented on her courage. She summed up how we all feel today: “These students are our babies. Nobody’s going to hurt one of them without a fight.”
Transylvania is a school, yes. But we are much more than that. We are a community in which each member is beloved. In a beloved community, learning is efficient and fluid. We will move on by learning, thinking, exploring, and questioning. We will move on by being who we are, remembering who we have been, and opening doors to who we will be. We will move on as a beacon of light for our city, our state, and our country, and we will move on by passing that light on to the world through each student who graces the classrooms and walkways of Transylvania University — In Lumine Illo Tradimus Lumen.
Sincerely,
President Seamus Carey"
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