A man with a machete who attacked a Transylvania University student in a campus coffee shop Friday first asked people about their political affiliations, a witness said.

The assailant, thought to be a former student, was armed with a machete and knives, Lexington Police Chief Mark Barnard said. The university canceled classes for the rest of the day.

The victim was taken to a hospital with injuries that weren’t considered life-threatening, fire department Battalion Chief Joe Best said.

The victim was safe, and her family “is with her at UK Hospital,” Transylvania President Seamus Carey said.

The assailant also was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, Barnard said. A third person was treated at the scene.

Tristan Reynolds, a student who was inside the campus café where the attack occurred, said about 30 to 40 people were inside at the time.

“A guy came in, banged something, a hatchet or an ax, on the table and said ‘the day of reckoning has come,’” Reynolds said. “He asked somebody what their political affiliation was, they said ‘Republican’ and the guy said ‘you are safe.’ And then I realized what was going on and started getting people out.”

“We started to scatter and then very, very quickly, campus security was getting everybody sheltered and secure,” Reynolds said. “They were very on it.”

Campus security officers subdued the assailant quickly, preventing further injury, Barnard said.

Security officers tackled the suspect, Transylvania spokeswoman Michele Gaither Sparks said.

Students were alerted about the attack by text messages through the campus’ T-Alert system, Sparks said.

The coffee shop, inside the Glenn Building, has an open floor plan and is a popular spot for students to get coffee and breakfast, Reynolds said.

He is the editor-in-chief of the Transylvania student newspaper, The Rambler, and he was with newspaper staff at the café.