Author Salman Rushdie, who was attacked at an event in New Jersey, was on "ventilator", "will likely lose one eye and his liver was stabbed and damaged", New York Times quoted his agent Andrew Wylie. "The news is not good. Salman will likely lose one eye, the nerves in his arm were severed and his liver was stabbed and damaged," he said.
Eventhough Hadi Matar (24) from Fairview, New Jersey has been identified as the suspect who attacked Rushdie, Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police told a press conference in the evening. Rushdie and his interviewer, Henry Reese (73), arrived on stage at the Chautauqua Institution. Shortly thereafter, the suspect jumped on the stage and attacked Rushdie, "stabbing him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen".
Staniszewski said several members of the staff at the institution and audience members rushed towards the suspect and took him to the ground. He said Rushdie was provided medical treatment by a doctor who was in the audience until medical personnel arrived on the scene. Rushdie was airlifted to a local trauma centre and is "still undergoing surgery". Rushdie fell through a barrier to the stage and was seen with blood on his hands.
"State Police are investigating an attack on author Salman Rushdie prior to a speaking event at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, NY. On August 12, 2022, at about 11 am, a male suspect ran up onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer," the New York Police said in a statement.
"Rushdie suffered an apparent stab wound to the neck and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition is not yet known. The interviewer suffered a minor head injury. A State Trooper assigned to the event immediately took the suspect into custody. The Chautauqua County Sheriff's Office assisted at the scene," it said.
Some people in the audience ran to render aid to Rushdie while others went after the attacker, a witness said. Another witness told CNN that there were no security searches or metal detectors at the event. Rushdie's fourth book, The Satanic Verses, published in 1988, forced him into hiding for nine years. A year after the book's publication, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini called for Rushdie's execution for publishing the book for its blasphemous content.
Since the 1980s, Rushdie's writing has led to death threats from Iran, which has offered a $3 million reward for anyone who kills him.
