SALMAN RUSHDIE ‘WILL LIKELY LOSE ONE EYE’ POLICE IDENTIFY SUSPECT

Sat 13 August 2022:

Salman Rushdie a controversial author was attacked and stabbed at least twice on stage Friday before a lecture he was scheduled to give at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York, State Police said.

Rushdie was on a ventilator Friday evening and could not speak, his agent, Andrew Wylie, told the New York Times.
“Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged,” Wylie told the Times. “The news is not good.”

Police identify suspect

Law enforcement officers detain a person outside the Chautauqua Institution where Salman Rushdie was attacked on Friday. Photograph: Charles Fox/AP

The suspect, 24-year-old Hadi Matar, was born in California, but recently moved to New Jersey, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation. His last listed address was in Fairview, a Bergen County borough just across the Hudson River from Manhattan. FBI officials were seen going into the home of Matar Friday evening.

Sources said that Matar also had a fake New Jersey driver’s license on him.

The New York Post, citing law enforcement sources, reported that Matar was sympathetic toward the Iranian government. Police have not yet announced a motive.

State Police Maj. Eugene Staniszewski said the motive for the stabbing was unclear. A preliminary law enforcement review of Matar’s social media accounts shows he is sympathetic to Shia extremism and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps causes, a law enforcement person with direct knowledge of the investigation told NBC News.

There are no definitive links to the IRGC but the initial assessment indicates he is sympathetic to the Iranian government group, the official says.

Iran’s government has long since distanced itself from the Ayatollah’s fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie’s life. But anti-Rushdie sentiment has persisted.

Following hours of surgery, Rushdie was on a ventilator and unable to speak as of Friday evening. “The news is not good,” Andrew Wylie, his book agent, wrote in an email, reported news agency AP. “Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged.”

Authorities are also working to obtain search warrants for several items found at the scene, including a backpack and electronic devices, Staniszewski said. Authorities believe the suspect was alone but are investigating “to make sure that was the case,” Staniszewski added.

At the scene

The suspect jumped onto the stage and stabbed Rushdie at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen, state police said. Staff and audience members rushed the suspect and put him on the ground before a state trooper took the attacker into custody, police said.

AUTHOR OF THE SATANIC VERSES, SALMAN RUSHDIE STABBED ONSTAGE DURING A SPEECH (VIDEO)

Rushdie was being introduced at about 10:45 a.m. when the assault happened, according to a witness, who said he heard shouting from the audience. He said a man in a black shirt appeared to be “punching” the author. The witness, who was 75 feet from the stage, did not hear the attacker say anything or see a weapon.

Salman Rushdie: Satanic Verses author ‘suffered apparent stab wound to neck’ at event in New York#SalmanRushdie pic.twitter.com/iPGQBnVPt3

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) August 12, 2022

Some people in the audience ran to render aid while others went after the attacker, the witness said. State police said a doctor who was in the audience during the event rendered aid to Rushdie until emergency responders arrived.

Rushdie’s 1988 novel was viewed as blasphemous by many Muslims, who saw a character as an insult to the Prophet Muhammad, among other objections. Across the Muslim world, often-violent protests erupted against Rushdie, who was born in India to a Muslim family.

At least 45 people were killed in riots over the book, including 12 people in Rushdie’s hometown of Mumbai. In 1991, a Japanese translator of the book was stabbed to death and an Italian translator survived a knife attack. In 1993, the book’s Norwegian publisher was shot three times and survived.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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