Salman Rushdie on ventilator after stabbing, Attacker arrested

Moments after author Salman Rushdie was attacked, authorities arrested the man who stabbed the author. New York Police identified the suspect as Hadi Matar (24) from Fairview, New Jersey. Author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and abdomen at a literary event in New York, US, on Friday. The 75-year-old author is on ventilator and could lose an eye. Police have identified his attacker. Major Eugene Staniszewski of the New York State Police told media that the suspect, Hadi Matar, jumped on the stage soon after Rushdie was introduced and “stabbed him at least once in the neck and at least once in the abdomen”.

The author's agent said that Salman Rushdie suffered severed nerves in an arm and damage to his liver, and could lose an eye. "The news is not good," Andrew Wylie, his agent, wrote in an email. "Salman will likely lose one eye; the nerves in his arm were severed; and his liver was stabbed and damaged." Indian-born author Salman Rushdie was stabbed on Friday as he was about to deliver a lecture in western New York's Chautauqua institute. He was taken to a hospital by helicopter where he underwent surgery to treat his injuries.