Salman Rushdie was reportedly on ventilator and unable to talk after being stabbed

Writer Salman Rushdie is reportedly on a ventilator and unable to talk after a stage assault in western New York on Friday.

State troops confirmed in a press convention Friday afternoon that Rushdie had been stabbed within the neck not less than as soon as and within the abdomen not less than as soon as whereas he was on stage for a panel in Chautauqua, western New York.

State troopers mentioned workers and spectators rushed to the stage and slammed the attacker to the bottom after the assault. A state jawan current there took the suspect into custody with the assistance of the native sheriff’s deputy.

Rushdie was handled by a physician who was within the viewers earlier than emergency medical providers arrived and took him to a neighborhood trauma heart.

Rushdie was reportedly on a ventilator after hours of surgical procedure and was unable to talk on Friday night.

“The news is not good,” his guide agent Andrew Wyllie wrote in an electronic mail reported by Reuters. “Salman is likely to have lost an eye, his arm veins were broken, and his liver was stabbed and damaged.”

The State Police Department has recognized the suspect as Hadi Matar, 24, from Fairview, NJ. The New York State Police is cooperating with the FBI and native police to analyze.

A preliminary assessment of Matar’s social media accounts by regulation enforcement confirmed him to be sympathetic to the causes of Shia extremism and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a regulation enforcement individual with direct data of the investigation informed NBC News. According to NBC News, regulation enforcement officers discovered pictures of Soleimani and an Iraqi extremist sympathetic to the Iranian regime allegedly in a cellphone messaging app belonging to Matar.

The official mentioned there isn’t a particular hyperlink to the IRGC, however preliminary assessments point out he’s sympathetic to the Iranian authorities group.

New York State Police issued a press release shortly after the incident:

“At around 11 a.m. on August 12, 2022, a male suspect came onto the stage and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer,” the assertion mentioned. “Rushdie suffered an apparent bruising wound to the neck, and was taken by helicopter to a regional hospital. His condition is not yet known. The interviewer suffered a minor head injury. A state trooper assigned to the incident immediately took the suspect into custody.”

A spokesman for the Chautauqua Institution, the place the panel was being held, informed CNBC that the group was coordinating with emergency officers on the general public response after the assault.

The Wiley company, which represents Rushdie, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Rushdie’s guide “The Satanic Verses” pressured him into hiding after being banned in Iran and a $3 million bounty positioned on his head. According to The Associated Press, the Iranian authorities has distanced itself from the bounty, however the fatwa by a semi-official non secular group has continued, rising the reward to $3.3 million.

Rushdie has been honored with a number of prime literary awards, together with two Whitbread Awards for Best Novel. He was knighted in 2007 whereas Tony Blair was the prime minister. Blair launched a press release on the assault.

“My thoughts are with Salman and his entire family,” Blair wrote on Friday. “A horrific and totally unfair attack on anyone exercising one’s right to speak, write and be true to their beliefs in their life and their art.”

Rushdie was scheduled to take a seat on a panel in Pittsburgh with Henry Reese, president of the City of Asylum, a corporation that gives sanctuary to writers in exile below risk of persecution.

“We pray for you Salman Rushdie and Henry Reese, and patience as we focus on coordinating with police officers following a tragic incident at the Amphitheater today,” the Chautauqua Institution mentioned in a tweet on Friday. “All events have been canceled for the rest of the day. Please consult the statement from NYS Police.”

The establishment’s web site described the panel as “a discussion of the United States as a refuge for writers and other artists in exile and as a home for freedom of creative expression”.

Rushdie was the previous president of PEN America, a nonprofit that defends freedom of expression and helps persecuted writers. Suzanne Nossel, CEO of Pen America issued a statement in the wake of the attack,

“A few hours before the attack, on Friday morning, Salman emailed me to help with placements for Ukrainian writers who need a safe haven from the grave dangers they face,” Nossel wrote. “Salman Rushdie has been targeted for his words for decades, but he has never bowed down or faltered. He has devoted a relentless energy to helping others who are vulnerable and dangerous.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul thanked the New York State Police for his or her response to the assault on Rushdie.

“Our thoughts are with Salman and his fans after this horrific incident,” the governor wrote. “I have directed the state police to extend further assistance in the investigation, if required.”

Hochul later mentioned that Rushdie is alive.

“A state police officer saved his life by standing up,” the governor mentioned throughout an occasion about gun violence. The moderator of this system was additionally attacked. “We’re monitoring the situation, but she’s getting the care she needs at a local hospital.”

It is the newest in a collection of assaults on the platform in opposition to public figures, together with Rep. Lee Zeldin, R.N.Y., in a town near Rochester, New York, earlier this summer, Dave Chappelle at the Hollywood BowlAnd Chris Rock during the Oscars,

NBC News contributed to this report

Correction: Rep. Lee Zeldin, RN.Y, was assaulted earlier this summer time in a city close to Rochester, New York. An earlier model misspelled his identify and misspelled the situation.