Salman Rushdie Stabbing: Suspect From NJ Charged With Attempted Murder

CHAUTAUQUA, NY — The suspect from New Jersey who rushed the stage at a literary event in western New York and stabbed author Salman Rushdie is being charged with attempted murder and assault, New York State Police announced Saturday.

Hadi Matar, a 24-year-old from Fairview, is being held in Chautauqua County Jail without bond, according to police. Matar was taken down by bystanders in the audience and arrested Friday, and he has a court hearing Saturday.

Matar rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and attacked Rushdie and an interviewer, police say. Rushdie, 75, was stabbed once in the neck and once in the abdomen. The interviewer sustained a minor facial injury.

Rushdie suffered a damaged liver, severed nerves in an arm and an eye, and was on a ventilator and unable to speak, his agent Andrew Wylie said Friday evening. Rushdie was likely to lose the injured eye.

Authorities say the attack was motivated by "fundamentalist extremism," New York state Sen. George Borrello said in a statement Friday condemning the attack.

Rushdie has received death threats for decades related to his novel "The Satanic Verses," which is considered blasphemous by many Muslims and has been banned in Iran since 1988. Late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa, or edict, calling for Rushdie's death in 1989.

A bounty of over $3 million has been offered for anyone who kills Rushdie.

The threats caused Rushdie to go into hiding with the help of the British government. He remained in hiding for nine years before re-emerging and resuming public appearances.

Rushdie was scheduled to speak Friday morning as part of the Chautauqua Lecture Series. Henry Reese, co-founder and president of City of Asylum in Pittsburgh, was also scheduled to speak.

Matar was born in the United States to Lebanese parents who emigrated from Yaroun, a border village in southern Lebanon.

President Joe Biden said he was "shocked and saddened" by the stabbing and offered his prayers for Rushdie's recovery in a statement Saturday.

Biden praised Rushdie's strength and refusal to be silenced in standing for truth, courage and resilience.

"Today, we reaffirm our commitment to those deeply American values in solidarity with Rushdie and all those who stand for freedom of expression," Biden said.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.