New York: British author Salman Rushdie was stabbed in the neck and torso onstage at a lecture in New York state on Friday and airlifted to a hospital, police said.
After hours of surgery, Rushdie was put on a ventilator and unable to speak on Friday evening.
Authorities believe that the attacker acted alone and are working to determine a motive for the attack.
Rushdie’s agent said Friday night that the author is currently on a ventilator and cannot speak. He said Rushdie would likely lose an eye, adding that the nerves in his arm were “severed” and his liver was “stabbed and damaged.”
Media reports suggest that a man stormed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution and began stabbing Rushdie as he was being introduced. Rushdie was pushed or fell to the floor, and the man was restrained.
Salman Rushdie was quickly surrounded by a small group of people who held up his legs, presumably to send more blood to his chest.
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Rushdie, 75, was propelled into the spotlight with his second novel, Midnight’s Children, in 1981, which won international praise and Britain’s prestigious Booker Prize for its portrayal of post-independence India.
But his 1988 book The Satanic Verses brought attention beyond his imagination when he was forced to go underground. — Agencies
With additional input from Reuters and CBS News.
