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Salman Rushdie is alive and airlifted to safety, says New York governor
Salman Rushdie is getting the care he needs at a local hospital, New York governor Kathy Hochul said, adding the event moderator was attacked as well.
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British author Salman Rushdie, who was attacked and stabbed in the neck at a literary event on Friday in western New York state, is alive and has been airlifted to safety, said New York's governor Kathy Hochul. The celebrated author is getting the care he needs at a local hospital, she said, adding the event moderator was attacked as well.
In a statement, police said a male suspect stormed the stage and attacked Rushdie and the interviewer, with the writer suffering "an apparent stab wound to the neck." Rushdie, whose writings made him the target of Iranian death threats, was taken by helicopter to a local hospital.
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In a tweet, the governor later thanked the New York Police and first responder in the case. “Our thoughts are with Salman & his loved ones following this horrific event. I have directed State Police to further assist however needed in the investigation,” she wrote.
A state trooper assigned to the event at the Chautauqua Institution, where Rushdie was due to give a talk, took the suspect into custody, while the interviewer suffered an injury to the head.
Police gave no details about the suspect's identity or any probable motive.
Social media footage showed people rushing to Rushdie's aid and administrating emergency medical care.
"A most horrible event just happened (and) the amphitheater is evacuated," a witness said on social media.
The Chautauqua Institution -- which puts on arts and literary programming in a lakeside community some 70 miles (110km) south of Buffalo -- said in a statement that it was coordinating with law enforcement and emergency officials following the attack.
